Stand Alone
by dancer-me
Summary: After a confrontation between Sasuke and Sakura at the bridge, Sakura is left with a feeling of determination, a need to prove her worth. She throws herself entirely into becoming strong. This is her quest, and her quest alone. Or is it? SakuNaru
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, only my own variation on the plot. I do not make any money off my ideas.**

**(AN)****Hey! I finally got around to starting a Naruto fanfic, and this idea has been stuck in my mind for a while.****I haven't written any fanfics before, so this'll be my first. I realized that there weren't that many NarutoXSakura pairings, so I couldn't resist making one, however I don't like to make things go really fast, and I want to focus on the main theme of this story first. I hope you all like it, and understand that I am NOT a Sasuke or Kakashi hater, it just works out for this story, as will other characters for other stories I may choose to do. Thanks and read on!**

* * *

It was a cool summer morning, as Sakura Haruno headed for the meeting spot for Team 7, the red bridge. She was fairly early, considering Kakashi-sensei probably wouldn't be showing up for another, ten, say, 45 minutes?

Her short pink hair blew in the summer breeze, her jade eyes shining brightly at the prospect of a new day, a new chance to get her Uchiha to see her. A small frown graced her face as she slowed her pace to a gentle walk, taking the time to think over her circumstances.

_'__**Sasuke-kun's been ignoring us'**_ Inner-Sakura stated blandly.

'_How is that any different from usual?'_

'_**It's different! He's been ignoring us with contempt, not just aggravation!'**_

_'He…has?_'

A troubled thought crossed the pink-haired kunoichi's mind as her sandaled feet stepped onto the hard wood of the bridge.

'_He has been…different. Kya! I'll just ask him what's wrong!'_As simple as that, Sakura had made up her mind. She leaned against the side of the bridge, closing her eyes to listen to the soft trickle of water as it passed beneath the arch. It was a soothing noise that calmed her nerves. Sasuke-kun wasn't the only reason she found herself jittery. Kakashi-sensei had said that he'd teach her some new genjutsu, after he finished with Naruto and Sasuke.

'_**Ne, why does sensei always leave us till the end?'**_ Inner-Sakura questioned.

Sakura didn't get the chance to answer. Sasuke was advancing towards the bridge with that expression on his face, completely void of all emotion. The pink-haired pre-teen tried to establish eye contact with his onyx orbs, but they would not glance her way.

'_Figures.'_

Sakura took in a deep breath, before bouncing over to the Uchiha's side.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!"

"Hn."

Silence, aside from the soft pitter-patter of the water that hit the bottom of the overpass was all that was heard after the morning greeting went sour. Still, Sakura was not ready to give up; this was all just an invitation to get to the point.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, can I ask you a question?" She began tentatively.

"No." Was his empty response. Sakura never took no for an answer, so she continued.

"Are you mad at me? What's wrong? You've been acting different lately…" Sasuke didn't respond, so Sakura kept prodding.

"Was it something I said? Did? Did I ask you out too many times? Mou, Sasuke-kun, I've been doing really well on all our missions—"

"No." Sasuke coldly interrupted Sakura's nonstop inquiry.

"What?" Sakura didn't understand, she thought she'd been doing so well…

Sasuke turned to face Sakura for the first time in a while, actually seeming like he was making an effort to make sure he had her full attention. Then again, he always did have it.

"Your fighting is sloppy," He started, and with each word, he burned a whole straight through the emerald-eyed Kunoichi's heart, "You're never paying attention. You're weak, Sakura. Not strong enough. You're holding our team back. The Dobe and I have to keep saving you from your stupidity. Kakashi-sensei doesn't train you, because you're not worth his time. Isn't it obvious? I'll point it out for you. You're not shinobi material. Go home. Sew something, if you can even handle a needle." And with that, he turned and leaned against the bridge pole, calmly waiting for Kakashi-sensei to show up… as if he said things like that every day.

Sakura was frozen in place, her eyes wide with hurt, staring off at something that she couldn't even place. Just staring, trying to comprehend everything that happened.

'_That was the most Sasuke-kun has ever said to me…and it was all about my faults. Ne, Sasuke-kun, do I really have that many? Am I really that bad? That weak? That…useless?'_

Tears started forming in Sakura's eyes, pooling at her eyelids. She bowed her head and tried desperately to hold them back, but yet they still fell, burning her cheeks, a physical reminder of how weak she was, unable to hold back her own emotions.

"Quit crying."

Sakura shot her head up in the direction the voice had come from. Sasuke-kun. He'd seen her crying. He'd seen her stamp into his memory just how pathetic she was. She could take no more. The kunoichi spun around on her heels and sprinted as fast as her feet could take her, further and further away from the meeting bridge, from Sasuke-kun, from her love.

"Sakura-Chaaa!-aaan?" Naruto called out from his haphazard balance on a pile of rocks she was coming into sight of. His gleeful call and turned into that of confusion as he saw her facial expression, her tear stained face.

'_Naruto…you're always training. Always getting better, and here I am getting worse. I'm sorry.'_

Sakura couldn't bring herself to look at him; she'd already embarrassed herself enough. Why hadn't Naruto told her how much she was bringing them all down, holding them back? Surely, surely if she had known before, she could've become better, improved herself. She could've captured Sasuke's respect…_No._It all seemed impossible now.

She sped past Naruto, pushing herself even harder, yet knowing, if Naruto wanted to catch up, he could in a heartbeat. She was too slow. Her excellent chakra control was nothing in comparison to the Uchiha Sharingan, and the immense amount of chakra Naruto possessed. To her luck, Naruto didn't follow her.

'_Ne, maybe he knows when to leave a girl alone...No. He probably just doesn't want to lose his balance before he breaks Sasuke-kun's record.'_

Sakura ran ceaselessly until she found herself at the door to her house. She shoved it open, dashing up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door behind her. She threw herself onto her bed, before curling up into a ball, letting the tears fall freely, relentlessly.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she seemed to finally run out of tears to cry. Sakura sat up on the edge of her bed, lifting the back of her hand up to wipe away the residue her salty tears had left behind. She glared at herself in the mirror, her short hair, traditional pink outfit with green pants for modesty's sake, and red puffy eyes. She couldn't even cry beautifully.

'_Ne, what will I do now?'_ Sakura wondered to herself. Sasuke-kun had said she wasn't good enough to be a shinobi, but that's the only talent she thought she had…

'_**We shouldn't let him bother us.' **_Inner-Sakura stated, her voice only wavering a little in Sakura's mind.

'_How can I not? It hurts, it hurts right here.'_ She lifted her hand to cover her heart, attempting to heal the aching pain.

Silence.

_**Silence.**_

**Heal.**

'_**Sakura! We don't care what he thinks!'**_

_'What? But…but I love him…'_

'_**How can you love someone who doesn't believe in you? Stand by you? We're strong, we can overcome this!'**_

'_But Sasuke-kun said we were weak...I'm…I'm confused? How, how…?'_Sakura choked out. Her inner had such determination in her voice. Sakura was confused, but inside, she felt the need to have some of that determination.

'_**Screw what Sasuke-kun said! We have a talent! We have chakra control! We'll find the Godaime! Demand she makes us her apprentice! We'll….We'll be something!'**_

Realization began to filter into the sad kunoichi's eyes. _Be something._Suddenly, the feelings of hurt and despair disappeared from her eyes, making way for an entirely new emotion.

Anger.

"How dare he!" Sakura shouted, standing up and stomping over to her dresser, grabbing the first thing she saw. Her picture of Sasuke. She gripped the frame with malice, watching has the perfectly kept glass covering begun to inherit a crack, a crack that kept growing.

"This is my heart, Sasuke-kun." The kunoichi said to herself, her jade eyes glowing. "This is what you've done to me." The crack kept getting bigger, small shards of glass popping out from the edges. "I've been trying so hard for you to notice me, but you only notice my faults. Can you not see the good in people? Are you so self consumed? Do you have no kindness? No tolerance? No, I don't think you do. But I'm worth something, Sasuke-kun. I'll make you see that. I don't need you or Naruto-kun to come and save me. I can save myself!" The tempered glass finally shattered, falling to the floor in a noisy, shiny, disastrous pile.

"I'll become strong!" The kunoichi yelled as she flung the wooden picture frame at her door, watching as the thin wood snapped into several pieces, before accompanying the glass on the floor.

The picture slowly floated down from where it had escaped the frame in mid-air, landing in the hands of Sakura Haruno. It was of Sasuke brooding at his desk in the academy, a picture she had slyly snapped during a, 'who can get the best profile shot' competition with her best friend, Ino Yamanaka. She had been so proud of it, but now, now she felt nothing.

"I'll be useful to somebody, Sasuke-kun. I'll become something. This'll be my last outburst. You'll see." And with that, Sakura gripped the corners of the photo, and began to tear it in two.

She stopped.

"I won't sink to this level." She folded the tattered picture in two, then walked over to the bottom drawer of her dresser, dropping the photo into a pile of other miscellaneous papers that she'd probably never ever look at again.

Sakura knew what she had to do. She left her home, knowing training with Team 7 had probably just begun, but she didn't care. Sakura was on a mission. And that mission led her to the office of the Godaime Tsunade.

As she lifted her hand to knock on the large doors, she whispered a final sentiment to herself, for herself… for_Sasuke_.

"This is what makes us different."

* * *

**(AN)****What did you think? I want to continue it, but please review and tell me if you liked it, I'm addicted. This is just the prologue to get things started, so my other full chapters will definitely be longer. Thanks!**


	2. Expectations

**(AN) Wow! Thanks for all the reviews! You all rock my world! I really hadn't expected my story to get that many reviews on the first chapter, but I was pleasantly surprised :P It prompted me to upload, though I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but it's one that has to happen for me to get this story to where I want it to be. In Stand Alone, I'm going to have at least two time skips, so I can access plot and get the characters to the ages I want them to be. I'm screwing up the timeline a little for it to suit my purposes, so sorry if I confuse anyone. Some things are going to definitely be out of sync than what happens in the anime, but for the most part, I'm trying to stick to it as much as I can. With that said, please read on!**

* * *

Sakura stood in a large room. No, scratch that, humongous room, complete with a pool leading into the lake, and walls covered in books ranging from medical disabilities to remedies. As she wiped the sweat from her brow, she remembered her conversation with the Godaime she had had yesterday.

_Flashback_

"_Yes? Come in." The voice of the Hokage called. _

_Sakura walked into the spacious room, standing a mere few feet from the desk swamped with paper work. Behind it sat a very tired, very drunk Tsunade._

"_Hokage-sama. I wish to make a request." Sakura began, taking a deep breath. As much as she had set out to the Hokage Tower with the knowledge that she would do this, still, at the defining moment, she was nervous. _

_Tsunade made no noise, which prompted Sakura to continue. _

"_Please, Hokage-sama, take me as your apprentice." There, she had said it. Now all that was left was to wait. _

_Tsunade immediately sobered. She sat up in her chair, leaning her elbows on the desk, balancing her head in her hands, sizing the kunoichi up. _

'_She has potential…excellent chakra control. But becoming a medic-nin, a truly skilled medic-nin, takes lots of work, and lots of time. I can see in her eyes she has the will, the cause, and the inspiration. I only worry what it is…'_

"_Are you prepared, Sakura Haruno, to devote all your time to the practice of medicine? To train in my style, to acquire all the knowledge? I will not go easy on you. This will be difficult." Tsunade stared into the pink-haired girl's jade eyes, watching for any signs of insecurity. The first falter in resolve would answer her question. She was not prepared. _

_But Sakura's eyes were trained on hers as well, and they stayed steady as she stated, "Yes, Hokage-sama. I am completely prepared."_

_Tsunade smirked. _

"_Very well then. Sakura Haruno, you are now my new apprentice."_

"_Thank you, Tsunade-Shishou!" Sakura exclaimed thankfully. Her first step to self-improvement cleared, yet her goal still so far away. _

"_We start tomorrow at 6:00am sharp. We will meet at the medical library, where I will teach you the phases, and you will read every book there is on medicine. At 9:00am you will be released to join Team 7 in training –" _

"_Excuse me, Tsunade-Shishou, but…" Sakura paused to choose her words wisely. "May I please be removed from Team 7? In order for me to have more time to train, that is…" Sakura poked her foot into the floor, shifting nervously. It definitely was the most outrageous question she had ever asked. _

"_What!" Tsunade exclaimed, dropping the cup of sake she had just begun to lift to her lips._

"_Sorry! It was an odd question…"_

"_Odd indeed." Tsunade stared at Sakura quizzically. "Are you having problems on your team?" 'Is that why she's come requesting to be my apprentice? Will Kakashi-san not train her?'_

_Sakura stared at her new sensei wide-eyed. She couldn't lie; lying to the Godaime would definitely make things worse. "Y-yes. Only minor, though… But it's okay. I'll work it out."_

"_Very well" Tsunade murmured. She hardly believed 'only minor' problems would lead to the kunoichi asking to be removed from her team, especially when she had been so happy that Sasuke Uchiha was on the same team as well. Still, she thought it wise not to press the matter further. "You may leave. Remember, 6:00am."_

"_Thank you." Sakura bowed, before turning to exit the office._

_End Flashback_

So here she stood, an injured fish lifelessly sprawled out in front of her, waiting for her to master the phases in order to bring it back to full health.

'_Mou, this is hard…'_ Sakura placed her hands above the fish for the twentieth time, focusing her chakra just so into her hands, attempting to clear her next level.

'_**Don't give up! We can do this! We'll show them what we can do!'**_ Inner-Sakura whooped encouragingly.

"Yeah, I'll show them!" Sakura said out loud to herself, once again recalculating her chakra levels.

She paused.

_'Wait…them? CRAP! What time is it!'_

Sakura glanced up at the old clock mounted above the pool. It read: 8:57am.

"DAMN!" She shouted, pouring the antidote Tsunade-shishou had given her onto the fish to heal it, and dropped it into the pool. Sakura ran as fast as she could out of the library.

'_Kakashi-sensei is gonna kill me!'_

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke were standing at the bridge, waiting for Kakashi to show up. Naruto shifted nervously.

'_I'm used to waiting for Kakashi-sensei…but Sakura-chan? That's just too weird…'_ Naruto scratched the back of his head and flopped down to sit Indian-style on the bottom of the bridge. _'Plus, she missed training yesterday…'_

"It was strange how it only rained on Sakura-chan yesterday. Her face was wet and all…" Naruto mused out loud, turning to face Sasuke for a response.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Dobe. Those were tears, dumbass."

"What!" Naruto jumped up, his hands balled into fists. "What the fuck did you do, teme!" Naruto shouted, grabbing the Uchiha's shirt collar, lifting him slightly off the ground.

Sasuke stared the Kyuubi container right back into the eyes. "Why do you assume it was my fault, dobe?"

Naruto had to pause and think about that for a second. In his world, he had created a philosophy that applied to everything: the teme did it.

"Because…because you were there! You're always hurting Sakura-chan's feelings!" Naruto yelled indignantly. He wasn't sure what had happened, but when in doubt, blame Sasuke for the reasons you don't like him.

Sasuke remained a contemplative silent. It was too silent for Naruto Uzumaki's taste. It was a guilty silent. Naruto pulled his own arm back, trying to get as much swing into his punch as he could.

"Put Sasuke down, Naruto."

Naruto dropped Sasuke in shock. Sasuke raised a curious eyebrow.

Kakashi-sensei…was on time.

"Oh my GOD!" Naruto exclaimed, raising his hands to grab his head, his mouth gaping wide as he stared at Kakashi, eyes as wide as saucers. All thoughts of Sakura seemed to have left his mind.

Kakashi chuckled. "There's no need to get so worked up…" he murmured, watching as the Genin ran around in circles. His eyes shifted between his students. One pink-haired kunoichi seemed to be missing.

'_Again?'_ Kakashi questioned himself. He hadn't missed the argument that had unfolded between the two rivals. In fact, he was there to see it begin. _'What's going on…'_ It wasn't like his only female student to be late, let alone skip training, as she had yesterday. She seemed always eager to train. In reality, he was constantly busy keeping Sasuke and Naruto from killing each other to pay much attention to her practicing.

'_Aha! She's on a hiatus!'_ Kakashi stood in a triumphant stance. _'Still…'_ He rubbed the back of his head. _'It's not that simple.'_

He was moments away from turning to the boys, who were a) staring at him impassively, and b) running around screaming, and asking them what they knew when he heard a feminine shout from the distance.

"Hey! I'm so sorry!" Sakura shouted, running up the path to the bridge, waving her hand in the air in greeting.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted exuberantly, finally relenting his overzealous reaction.

Sakura came to a stop at the overpasses' edge, resting her forearms on her thighs, bent over to catch her breath. _'I made it in record time…Why is the medical library so far away!'_

"Nice of you to join us, Sakura." Kakashi stated from the perched position he had assumed on the side of the bridge.

"S-sorry, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura muttered, suddenly having found the textures in the wood most fascinating. "I-I was training extra at home, and lost track of time." It wasn't a lie – just the at home part.

Sasuke scoffed, which earned a death glare from Naruto. Kakashi merely narrowed his eye.

Sakura's shoulders stiffened as she heard Sasuke's derogatory response, but she didn't take the bait, didn't get angry.

'_**Don't let it get to us. He's just jealous he didn't have the same idea!'**_ Inner-Sakura soothed kindly. _**'Remember we talked to Shikamaru about this yesterday? How to calm our temper? Deep, even breaths…'**_

Sakura started breathing in slowly, a nice, even count. It's true; she had taken a quick visit to the Nara household the other day after Tsunade-Shishou had finished with her. She wanted to be able to know how to control her nerves when she confronted Sasuke again. Yeah, he'd been a little confused at the brief and to the point, not to mention lacking in details explanation she'd given him, but he still gave her the needed advice. So far, it seemed to be working quite well.

Sakura stood up straight, levelling her gaze at her teammates_. 'I used to think 'teammates' was the term for people who stood together and watched out for each other. But…I get the feeling that it's more of case of "have to" than "want to" when it comes to me…'_ The flash in her eyes did not go unnoticed by the members of Team 7, nor did the slight upward tilt of her chin as she turned to Kakashi, stating that she'd arrived late - not to mention skipped yesterday for 'unavoidable circumstances' - so she'd do extra laps while he trained Naruto and Sasuke-kun.

The tightness of her jaw as she said Sasuke's name was barely visible, but Kakashi could see it, he could see everything. _'She's volunteering to do more work? Train apart from the team?'_ Even as Kakashi ran her statement through his head, he noticed, with some form of shocking realization, that this really wasn't any different from the norm. She always trained apart from the team, because he was too busy with them. The copy-nin furrowed his brows together. _'Well then'_ he thought, adopting a small grin under his mask, _'I think I'll teach her that genjutsu I promised her today.'_

With that in mind, Kakashi clapped his hands together, and got the Genin started on their warm up run.

* * *

Laps had ended long ago, and Kakashi had left Sakura to her business while he supervised Naruto and Sasuke's sparring matches. Sakura had finished all her regular training exercises and assumed a shady spot beneath a large tree. She'd practiced targeting with kunai and shuriken, focused chakra individually into every part of her body, and worked on her performance time of the hand symbols for all the jutsus she knew.

'_Mou…what now?'_ The kunoichi was eagerly waiting to be dismissed from training so she could go back to the library. _'I think I've got the chakra control in my hands figured out…'_

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura glanced up to see Naruto running dramatically towards her.

'_**We can't tell him anything. We're becoming strong on our own. Ne, with his big mouth, the whole village will know what happened!'**_ Inner-Sakura whined as she tried to help Sakura memorize a few medical terms.

"Hey, Naruto." Sakura answered politely. She still wasn't sure how to act around Naruto. He hadn't said anything to her…but maybe that was why. He hadn't warned her of her supposed failures…or had he not known? Well maybe he –

Naruto had knelt down to level his eyes with hers, almost as if he were trying to see through her.

'_**Boys are stupid…'**_ Sakura's inner muttered offhandedly.

"Ne, Sakura-chan," Naruto began, "What did the teme do yesterday? If he, you know, challenged your virtue or anything I swear you can tell me, and I'll kick his ass for you!"

"Ch-challenged my v-virtue?" The kunoichi's delicate pink eyebrows gave way to the unstoppable twitching of her eyes.

"Or, um…something…" Naruto sputtered, slowly shifting back from the visibly irritated girl.

'_Of all things, my virtue! Not only that, does he think I can't kick his ass MYSELF!'_ Sakura squawked to herself, overlooking the fact that at her current skill level, kicking his ass - aside from the literal point of view - was the last thing she'd be able to do, next to taking over the world.

'_**BREATHE!'**_ Inner-Sakura shouted, _**'He didn't mean it that way!'**_

Sakura took her inner's advice, and calmed herself down. Naruto eased back down to sit beneath the tree, alongside her.

"No, Naruto." Sakura smiled sweetly, "Sasuke-kun," the name tasted sour in her mouth, "didn't challenge my virtue or anything. He just spoke his mind, that's all." After the words escaped her mouth, she wondered if maybe she'd said too much, if he'd question what exactly had been said.

But no, Naruto didn't ask what words had been exchanged, he seemed to be more caught up on the words, 'he spoke'.

'_Mou…his life must be way too simple…'_

"Sakura," Kakashi appeared in front of the two, "I can teach you that genjutsu now." Sasuke had elected to walk the rest of the way, obviously not eager to meet and greet the two Genin. Sakura looked up at the sky. From the position of the sun and the amount of light it was generating, she could tell that it was going on 3:00, maybe 4:00pm.

'_**It's getting late. We promised ourselves we'd get to the next level before tomorrow! We want Tsunade-Shishou to be pleased!'**_ Inner-Sakura advised, obviously eager to be back in the library.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei," the kunoichi apologized half-heartedly as she stood up, brushing excess dirt and grime off the bottom of her dress. "But I have to be somewhere really soon, I'm extremely busy. Tomorrow, please?" and with that, she took off in the opposite direction at a very fast pace.

Naruto watched Sakura leave in confusion, Sasuke's expression incredulous. Sakura never turned down a chance to learn something new, considering it was a rare thing indeed for Kakashi-sensei to be available to give her attention.

Kakashi simply said his goodbyes to the two rivals before forming a few hand symbols and disappearing amongst the leaves. _'Sakura…what happened?'_

* * *

Every day following that training session played out the same way. Sakura showed up tired, did extra work, and disappeared. Sasuke thought nothing of it, he figured she wanted to be alone to go and mope in a corner somewhere. Kakashi Hatake thought differently. The pink haired kunoichi was secretive about whatever it was she ran off to do, but as long as she showed up to training and participated to the best of her abilities, that was all he had time to focus on.

Everyone had come to expect Sakura's over-busy schedule, but what most had not expected, and only some had feared happened one year later.

When Sasuke left the village to go to Orochimaru.

Naruto blamed everything on Kakashi-sensei showing up on time.

* * *

**(AN) And chapter one is finished! I hope this chapter was well received. I know it moves fast at the end, but I'm getting somewhere! I hope to incorporate another time skip in the next chapter, and then I think I may just go with the flow. Many thanks to: RockX2, hellraizer92, Krymsom, Gnosismaster, kabata4life, dbzqtfan2004, Sazuishi, rinshin, DarkItachi22, Stunna-kun, Sakurastears, Sareon, and crimson tearFor reviewing my prologue!**

**Please continue to read and review! =)**


	3. Realizations

**(AN)**** Sorry this chapter took a while, but it's long! The first part is mostly informatory, because I need it for everything and everywhere I tend to go in this story to make sense. I'm still in the process of building it up, but no worries, I don't think I'll have any more time skips other then the one I'm insinuating at the beginning of the next chapter. Yay for some Naru/Saku fluff! So, without further ado, read on!**

* * *

To say that Sakura was pissed when she found out Sasuke Uchiha had left Konoha would _definitely_ be an understatement.

She was _beyond _pissed.

She had been filing papers in the Godaime's office when two jounin ran into the room, shouting about how the Uchiha kid left the village to study under the teachings of the sannin Orochimaru. She wasn't stupid. She knew what the snake-bastard had planned for Sasuke. It was so obvious, yet how could he not see what was right in front of him?

Her first reaction had been shock at the stupid decision her former love had made, and at how his betrayal barely pulled on her heart-strings; hardly made her relive the feelings she had two years ago when he'd told her she was weak. Not a single tear of sadness welled up in her eyes, though tears did form.

Tears of anger.

She had run out of the office, pushing past the two shinobi and bolted to her house, where she locked herself in her room for the grand total of three days. She had spent the past year trying so hard to control her emotions, having become aware of the fact that to feel sadness, anger, frustration, was all a weakness. But somehow, all that time seemed to disappear in the height of her anger, and he she couldn't bare to have the villagers and her peers see her in such a state. See her so angry on account of a missing-nin… a missing teammate.

_First day:_

"_Why…WHY?" _She had cried in fury. Why did he have to leave as she was just achieving her goal? Her goal of becoming strong? What was the point if he was no longer present to see how much she had improved? Where was the satisfaction when he was no longer there to smite because she, _she_ the weakling and drawback of team 7 had accomplished _her _mission. She had become the very opposite of what he'd said she was. She had proven him wrong.

But now, now he chose to leave. She couldn't help but skeptically wonder if he had done this in a final attempt to keep his dignity; win back the integrity that he had lost having said such a blasé statement about a kunoichi who had been whispered of as the future successor of the sannin-Tsunade. When the members of Team 7 finally realized where and with who she was spending most of her time, they were, to say the least, rather surprised.

_Second Day:_

Was it a challenge then? One sannin sensei for another? It was like a softly spoken war cry ringing in her ears. Did he think that she would so easily cower beneath the new might he hoped to obtain? Surely he was aware that Orochimaru wasn't training him to help him win a little tiff with a pink haired teen, but for his own benefits. The only power Sasuke Uchiha would feel would be the disgusting tingling sensation of a forbidden jutsu.

_Third Day:_

Sakura had run every possible circumstance through her mind, trying desperately to convince herself that no matter how much she disliked Sasuke now, she still couldn't believe his train of thought could be so fickle as to believe in charity from the man would had killed the Third.

As she calmed down, she had come to these conclusions:

The Uchiha prodigy _must_ be aware of Orochimaru's intentions. Done.

So he'd have to have a strong enough purpose to drive him there in the first place. As much as she'd like to believe it was because of her vast improvement, her inner had a hard time accepting that was the case. He was far too prideful to leave just for her. Settled.

So then what was it that had proven as a strong enough force to push Sasuke to seek training from out of the village? Questionable.

Scratch that. How about _who_? Absolutely.

A few more arguments with Inner-Sakura and the kunoichi had it all but figured out.

Itachi Uchiha.

Sasuke had spoken of a man he wished to kill, and acquired serious rage problems when anyone mentioned Itachi or his family: his family who happened to be coincidently slaughtered by said man.

'_Well I'll be damned…'_ Sakura had muttered to herself at the time, under her breath.

Sasuke was on a power trip, a murder run. He sought better and more dangerous training so as to live up to the 'Avenger' title he had bestowed upon himself. Every shinobi knew that rage blinded oneself. Maybe that's what Sasuke had relied on when he had made his choice to leave the village. He depended on not having to deal with the consequences of walking into a hidden base like Sound would end with.

He hadn't wanted to think at the time that Orochimaru wanted his body as a vessel; a powerful vessel that once possessed could be utilized as a weapon of mass destruction.

Oh yes. Sakura had it all figured out in her eyes. Sasuke planned on excelling with inhuman speed, becoming _better_ than the snake-sannin in his armless state. Then he would slay him, having gained everything and lost nothing but his village, which he evidently didn't care about. He overlooked the simple fact that Orochimaru was no push over. He would not be such an easy kill. Leave it to Sasuke…the lord of underestimation.

'_Ignorance is bliss'_ She had thought.

A small grin, the first in three days, appeared on Sakura's face.

She still had a chance to prove herself to Sasuke. She still could let him see how strong she was capable of becoming.

She would save _him _from _his_ own _stupidity. _

Having made her decision, Sakura unlocked her door, ready to continue her training; ready to raise the bar she had placed above herself. So long as there was room for improvement, she'd supply the time to get there, no matter what.

* * *

Those three days seemed so far away now, yet having only been one year ago. She was now 14, but had remained the same old jovial Sakura-chan, albeit the addition of a fairly large dab of determination, with a touch of attitude adjustment.

Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki had become closer over the 2 years before and after Sasuke left, in the small increment of time she allowed to herself when she wasn't training.

Even throughout their busy schedules, he always found time to stop by and check on her.

Everyone in Team 7 felt the heavy weight of having lost a _friend_ to the enemy. Even though it wasn't just Sakura who had lost somebody – Naruto lost his rival, Kakashi-sensei his pupil – everyone still walked on eggshells around her when it came to the Sharingan wielder. Even Naruto.

They had all assumed that her three day withdrawal was on account of depression for Sasuke's departure, not a plan of action. She wanted to keep her reason for improvement secret, so she hadn't bothered to correct anyone. It was like having a secret identity. Wasn't it safer to have people believe one thing, yet be another?

Naruto was constantly there; always wanting to help her. He offered to train with her frequently, and on the off-chance that she accepted, his delighted responses always made her feel like she had made the right decision. They had become chuunin together.

She had squared off time in her busy training agenda – no matter how small an increment – to be with Naruto, because somehow, someway, he always seemed to nullify her need to become stronger. In the time spent with him, she didn't feel like she should be doing something else. No, she felt like she should be exactly where she was, right there, right then, with him.

The roseate kunoichi didn't understand the relaxing sensation that surrounded her whenever she was with Naruto, but she did know one thing. She liked it. As much as she really wanted to be strong, she also enjoyed the stress free air when she was with him. His hyperactivity and bluntness still brought back the best of her sometimes, but that was Naruto. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Sakura was jolted from her reverie as a series of knocks sounded on her front door. She sighed and placed the medical book she had been reading on the coffee table, before heading to see who was calling on her at such a late hour. The thought of grabbing a kunai before approaching the door crossed her mind, but she saw no need for it as soft voices and giggles were heard from behind the threshold.

A cheerful smile graced the kunoichi's face as she padded over to the door, and opened it incredibly fast. Ino, who had a tendency to lean heavily on the door when waiting for Sakura to open up, was now being introduced to the floor.

"Mou, Forehead! You so _knew _that was going to happen!" Sakura's best friend whined as she picked herself up from the ground, making way for Ten-Ten and Hinata to enter the house.

"Serves you right, Ino-pig!" The jade-eyed girl giggled as she led her unexpected guests into her living room, "You shouldn't rely on inanimate _moving_ objects to hold you up."

Ino grumbled as she took a seat on the couch beside Hinata Hyuuga. Sakura opted to sit in what she referred to as her 'study' chair, and Ten-Ten seemed to be a big fan of the fuzzy carpet she had convinced her mom to purchase.

"So…" Sakura sighed after the small talk came to an end, "To what do I owe this late night visit?"

"More like to _whom_, Forehead. Godaime-sama thinks you've had your nose in your books for too long, so she sent us over to actually get you into some healthy conversation" Ino informed her, snatching the textbook of the table beside Sakura's seat and flinging it offhandedly behind the couch.

"But I thou-"

"Yeah, uh huh." Ino cut her off, "You thought that when she said, 'work hard' it was an excuse for not having a life."

"N-Naruto-kun's b-been worried about y-you." Hinata offered timidly.

"WHAT?" Sakura squealed, sitting up straight from her flopped position over the arm rests of the chair.

"Y-yeah. H-He said that y-you've been s-so busy l-lately. H-He's worried s-something's wrong."

Sakura was dumbfounded. There was no other word for it.

'_I…I made Naruto worry about me? But…I smile a lot when I'm around him! Why does he think something's wrong!"_

'_**Hmm…good question. Maybe because your mind is only half present when you're with him, and he can see that.'**_

'_But that can't possibly be it! He doesn't know me that well!'_

"Oi! Earth to Sakura!" Ten-Ten giggled, waving her hand back and forth in front of Sakura's face.

"Ah…oh…sorry." Sakura muttered sheepishly, having been caught spacing out over the mention of Naruto. She didn't quite know why the thought of Naruto worrying about her touched her so much.

'**But we can't stop him from worrying. Our training is what's important right now!'**

"Jeeze, Forehead." Ino muttered under her breath, "We wouldn't have mentioned Naruto-kun if we thought your brain would leave for the night…" Ino paused, as if she were considering what it was she had said.

"Oh, my God!" She shouted, standing up and pointing to an awestruck Sakura. "You have a crush on Naruto, don't you!"

"No I don't!" Sakura shot out, standing up and glaring daggers and Ino.

"Come to think of it…" Ten-Ten contemplated, "You two _have_ been spending a lot of time – or whatever time you have – together." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively in Sakura's direction.

"It's just because we're friends! We're on the same team!" Sakura pleaded for her friends to believe her, but they all thought the idea was pretty reasonable. Sakura, on the other hand, couldn't bring herself to believe it.

"I don't like Naruto! I mean…I like him as a friend, and he's really nice to me, plus he's always offering to train with me, oh and he walks me home from training with Tsunade-Shishou, and he's always wanting me to talk with him, plus he wants to be my champion – even though I don't need one – but it's touching anyway, but I don't –"

"Forehead?" Ino poked Sakura in said body part, stopping her tangent. "You're digging yourself a hole, hun."

Sakura's face was downcast. _'Why don't they believe me when I say I that I don't like him that way?' _

'_**Probably because I'm starting to not believe you.' **_Inner-Sakura muttered skeptically.

'_What?'_

'That rant said it all! You're just in den-'

"You know what you're in, Sakura?" Ten-Ten said, standing up and removing Ino's finger from Sakura's face. "I think you're just in denial."

Sakura stared wide-eyed at her friends, looking to Hinata for support.

There was none to be had.

"S-Sorry, Sakura." Hinata muttered, staring at her feet, "I-It's not hard to b-believe."

"No worries, Forehead, it's totally okay to like someone other than Sasuke-kun." Ino put in, having dropped back on the couch. She shushed Sakura when she looked like she wanted to say something. "I mean, _I _moved on, to a _real_ man." Ino had a very large grin plastered to her face.

"Ooh." Ten-Ten cooed, as if on cue. "Who is it!"

Sakura, despite her rising frustration at the whole situation, was actually quite curious to see who had captured Ino's attention. In addition to that, she was willing to discuss _anything_ to get the attention off of her.

"Why, Shikamaru of course." Ino said wistfully, twirling her long blond pony tail in her hand. She and Sakura had opted to let their hair grow long again, though Sakura's was only a bit below her shoulders, Ino's was almost to her butt. Don't ask how. It was unexplainable.

"But Shikamaru?" Ten-Ten muttered, as if the whole idea was outrageous, "but he's so…so…cynical and quiet!"

"What can I say?" Ino confirmed, "I like the silent type."

"Point there…"

"True enough."

"I g-guess."

* * *

Naruto walked down the empty streets, hands in the pockets of his orange jumpsuit. He was on his way to Sakura's house.

'_Sakura-chan's been really busy lately…but I don't think it all has to do with Tsunade-baasan.'_

Naruto ran his hand through his short blond locks, as he turned yet another corner in the village on his way to his destination.

'_I've been worried about her since she shut herself up in her room when she found out the teme left.' _Naruto fisted his hands tightly together, '_She…she must really love him.'_

Naruto sighed dejectedly. '_She's been shutting herself off from the world…probably because she doesn't want anyone to see how much Sasuke-teme leaving has really gotten to her.'_

Naruto found himself standing right in front of the pretty pink-haired kunoichi's door.

'_I think I know what I need to do.'_

With that thought in mind, he lifted his hand and knocked twice on Sakura's home entryway.

A minute and a bunch of noise later, the door was opened for Naruto to come face to face with Ino. They both mirrored the same facial expression.

Stunned.

Naruto could feel Ino looking him over. He hadn't worn his orange jacket because it had been warm outside, thus he was dressed in a black t-shirt and orange pants, his Konoha headband still tied around his head.

"Forehead!" Ino shouted, not even greeting Naruto. "It's for you!"

The flower shop girl turned and left, making way for Sakura, who arrived just moments after.

Her wide-eyed expression was also that of being stunned.

This was just getting ridiculous.

"U-uhm Hi, Naruto." Sakura stuttered out.

"Hey, Sakura-chan." Naruto returned the sentiment.

Awkward silence. Strangely enough…Naruto broke it.

"Ne, Sakura-chan…can we talk?" Naruto said, without wavering. He'd practiced what he was going to say all night, but he figured the further he got into his speech, the more nervous and less prepared he was going to be."

"O-okay, Naruto." Sakura slipped on her sandals and stepped out of her doorway, closing the door behind her.

Naruto ran his hand through his hair, a nervous gesture, she had come to realize.

"Sakura-chan…I know that you're hurting, and that you don't really want to talk about it. But I'm here for you, you know, if you ever need someone to talk to." Naruto started.

'_Oh no…he has it all wrong!'_ Sakura screamed to herself.

"No, Naruto!"

Naruto turned his head to stare in confusion at Sakura. "What?"

'_**I think we should tell him. He deserves to know.'**_Inner-Sakura whispered sadly.

"Naruto…I've been really busy because I'm determined to become strong. I…I need to be strong so I can go and save Sasuke-kun!" _'To show him that he's the one who needs to be saved, not me!'_

A look of realization flashed across his face.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto stared into her eyes, "I love you with everything I have –"

"Naru-" Sakura tried to stop him, but he wouldn't have it.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. Please, don't stop me? I have to say all this."

"…Alright."

"Anyway," Naruto shifted from his left foot to his right foot, and then back again. "I really love you, and because of that I'm willing to do anything for you. I…I liked being able to save you, feeling like I was protecting you. But you've become so strong," He smiled a sad smile, "and you really don't need me to be there anymore. But I still want to be. Will you let me? I promise…I promise that I'll bring Sasuke back for you!"

'_Oh no…Oh no. This is all wrong!'_ She couldn't believe herself as tears dripped from her eyes. '_Naruto…you have it all wrong!'_ Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but the words just didn't come. They couldn't come.

"I want to see you smile real big again!" Naruto continued, a cheerful smile trying to make it's way onto his face, "and I'm willing to do anything to be able to give you whatever you need to help you smile like that. So let's become strong together, Sakura-chan!"

Naruto took that one step closer that pressed him up against Sakura, and he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her into a tight embrace.

All coherent thought left her mind as she marveled at the overwhelming feeling of security she felt, there in his arms.

They stayed like that for a few more minutes, neither of them wanting to move. Sakura was Naruto's lifeline. She always had been.

When he smiled at her and walked away, she hadn't really understood what the last thing he said, _"Lets become strong together, Sakura-chan"_ had really meant.

Though, she supposed she figured it out when Naruto and Jiraiya-sama disappeared the next day.

* * *

**(AN)**** And so ends chapter 2! I hope the first part didn't bore you all, I know it definitely has potential to do that. This one took me a while, because I didn't know exactly how I should go about it. **

**Many squishy brownies to: Kyrmsom, ****Sareon, ****Sakurastears, ****Gnosismaster,**** DarkItachi22, ****tennisdesi91, ****Kabata4Life, ****MIFED****, yukibozu, ****and**** jere7782 for reviewing chapter one of Stand Alone! You guys all keep me from distraction. :P**

**Please read and review! (cough) while I go get something to eat (cough) I put aside my favourite hobby because I was on a role ;)**


	4. Conversations

**(AN)**** Sorry for the lateness of this chapter! Everything has been really busy and stressful this week, and I couldn't find the time to start this! This chapter contains the final MASSIVE time skip, and, because this was so late, I'm going to try and post the chapter that follows this either today or tomorrow if at all possible. Read on and I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

When Sakura turned to head back into her house after her late night encounter with Naruto, Ino, Ten-Ten and Hanata hadn't asked her what had been said.

When she stayed silent on her chair, staring at nothing in particular, Ino, Ten-Ten and Hinata hadn't asked her what was troubling her.

Ino had overheard Naruto confessing to Sakura. She'd known all along his feelings, but still, for him to just come out and say it…she knew it was better to feign ignorance.

But when Sakura tentatively stepped out of the Godaime's office late the next morning, her face pale as if she'd seen a ghost, yet her eyes' inner workings obviously calculating, her friends couldn't let this one pass.

* * *

Sakura walked slowly, calmly, her facial expression molded into a practiced look of indifference, down the streets of Konoha.

'_Why? Tsunade-Shishou told me you left, Naruto, why?'_

Sakura kept walking forward, right foot in front of the left, left in front of the right, over and over.

'_I…I thought you were going to stay and get strong? Sure…under the misconception that I wanted Sasuke back for more than to prove something. But…'_

No matter how many times the kunoichi thought it all over, Naruto's leaving, Jiraiya being an accomplice, she couldn't find out why he needed to go.

'_**Tsunade-shishou said that Naruto requested permission to leave with Jiraiya-sama'**_ Inner-Sakura offered silently.

'_Yeah, but… why would he need to leave in the first place?'_

'_**Naruto said he wanted to get strong.'**_

'_But why does he have to leave to get strong! I've become strong here! Why can't he?'_

'_**He was going to train for two years with Jiraiya-sama, sensei told us that much. Maybe he needs space…'**_

'_Maybe he needs space…is he regretting sharing his feelings with me?'_

A soft blush tinted the rosette kunoichi's cheeks as she remembered Naruto's heartfelt confession. She'd been so glued to her doorstep at the time, unable to speak anything. Even if he had expected her to say something, she wouldn't have been able to form any words.

Sakura pushed a strand of her shoulder length hair behind her ear.

Team 7 really had fallen apart. Sasuke a deserter, Naruto-kun leaving to train elsewhere, and Sakura, what had she become?

She'd become completely consumed with becoming strong. A ball of guilt coiled within her stomach as a small question that had been nagging at her since Tsunade-shishou informed her of Naruto-kun's departure was pushed forward from the back of her mind.

'_Ne…was it my fault Team 7 fell apart? Everything was fine until I went off and started training on my own…'_

'_**NO! Everything wasn't fine! Sure, Naruto and Sasuke**__** liked it fine, but we were miserable!'**_ Inner-Sakura shouted out, _**'It's not perfect until everyone is satisfied with the outcome!'**_

'_But –'_

"Oi! Forehead!"

Sakura quickly glanced around, trying to see where Ino was. Only Ino ever called her 'Forehead'.

She found her standing on the doorstep to her house. Had she walked all the way home and not even noticed?

Beside Ino stood a worried looking Hinata, and an ever-so-slightly peeved Ten-Ten.

"What?" Sakura questioned, cautiously approaching her doorway. "What's up with this, Ino-pig?" The jade-eyed 14 year old tried to keep the sadness from her voice.

"Listen, forehead." Ino began bluntly, getting straight to the point, "We didn't bug ya about what happened when Naruto stopped by, we didn't ask you why the hell you were staring at…God knows what, but now, miss gloom-and-doom, this is getting _way_ too depressing."

Sakura stared wide-eyed at her three friends. Foolishly, she'd thought none of them would notice her odd behaviour the other night, most likely because she couldn't even remember what had happened when she'd gone back inside.

Her gaze shifted from Ino to Hinata, who, strangely enough, had begun to speak.

"S-Sakura-san… won't you t-tell us what's w-wrong?"

"Yeah, seriously, you _have _to tell us what happened!" Ten-Ten chimed in, "It must be something major, obviously, considering your aura. God, what _happened_ today? I'd ask about yesterday, but," She gave Sakura a wink, "Maybe that was too private."

Sakura's face suddenly got really hot as she remembered Naruto hugging her last night, remembered how safe she'd felt. Her embarrassment gave way to remorse as she realized she wouldn't feel that way again, at least, as it were, for another two years.

'_**Sakura…they want to help us. Maybe, just this once, we should tell them what happened…'**_Her inner suggested, sounding just about as depressed as Sakura felt.

"Ne, wanna come in?"

* * *

Ino, Hinata, and Ten-Ten were all flopped on Sakura's bed, along with the kunoichi herself. It was time for some major inner-self exposure.

Sakura took in a deep breath, and decided it was easiest to get it all out in one clean sweep.

"Naruto stopped by yesterday and told me he wanted to talk and then he told me that he loved me and would do anything for me and what can I say I was shocked so then I didn't say anything and he told me that we would get strong together so he could bring Sasuke back for me but I really don't care about getting Sasuke back I just wanted to be strong to prove that I'm worth more to the village than he said and that's why I've been working my butt off but then all these misunderstandings started happening after Naruto and I got close and it all just sucked and now Tsunade-ShishoutellsmethatNaruto-kunleftwithJiraiya-samatogetstrongandwon''tknowwhattodo"

…

…

…

"I'm sorry…WHAT!" Ino shouted, "Say that again, m-o-r-e s-l-o-w-l-y" She dragged out.

"Oh, um…err…" Sakura wasn't sure she _could_ say it again, but hey, the day was already doomed to be an unbelievably long one.

"Last night," Sakura began, _more slowly_, as her girl friends leaned in close, "Naruto came over and told me he loved me…I thought we were just friends!"

"HE SAID HE LOVED YOU!" Ten-Ten shrieked, jumping up and giving Sakura a hug, "That's so cool! Um, hello? The way he's been acting around you _so_ doesn't seem 'just friendish.'"

Ino and Hinata nodded their agreement.

Sakura glanced tentatively at Hinata.

'_Mou…doesn't Hinata like Naruto? This must suck for her to hear…'_

Hinata's eyes caught Sakura's gaze.

"S-Sakura-san, I k-know what y-you're thinking, but…" Hinata began to poke her two index fingers together, "Y-you and N-Naruto-kun are s-special friends t-to me, a-and I w-want you b-both to be h-happy. I-If you l-like each other t-then…" Hinata's voice trailed off quietly.

Ino, Sakura, and Ten-Ten's jaws were agape. It was obvious what was going through all their minds at the same time: 'Oh, my God! That's the most I've ever heard her say!'

"P-please continue." Hinata whispered, fiddling with the comforter on Sakura's bed.

"After he told me that…" Sakura's gaze shifted to stare at her bedroom floor, "He…he told me that we were going to get strong together, and that he was going to bring _Sasuke_ back for me."

Realization dawned on Ino's face as she realized the misunderstanding that had occurred. Her eyes narrowed.

"Sasuke, that bastard!" Ino shouted, standing up on the bed, "He always has to go and screw everything up, doesn't he? Kami, even when he's not in the country he still fuc-_fudges_ everything up!" She put her hands on her hips and did a terrible imitation of Sasuke's voice. "Dobe and Forehead, happily ever after? Guess we can't have that…"

Ten-Ten giggled under her breath, and Sakura smiled thankfully up at Ino. Her outbursts always had a way of letting Sakura know she was listening. Plus, she had a point; this was all Sasuke's fault…sorta.

The blond kunoichi dropped back down on the bed, making the other girls bounce a little into the air.

"Anyway," Sakura continued, once everything had quieted down, "He – Naruto – hugged me, and I felt really safe. I haven't felt that way for a long time, since _Sasuke _told me I was _weak. _I – Ino, calm down, I'm dealing with it – maybe-sorta-kinda realized that I might have feelings for Naruto…"

Ino had a big-ass smile plastered onto her face, "Well it's about time you realized that, forehead! – What the hell are you looking so depressed for? Get your pink-butt over to his house and tell him you feel the same way!"

Sakura's face was downcast, and the happy shine in all her friend's eyes quickly faded away.

"S-Sakura-san…d-did something b-bad h-happen?" Hinata's soft voiced chimed, as Ino reached her arm around Sakura to rub her back, gazing at her best friend with concern.

"Tsunade-Shishou…she called me to her office this morning, saying that she had something important to tell me," Sakura's voice became quieter, more thick with sadness, "She…she told me that Naruto left the village to train with Jiraiya-sama…for two years."

A mortifying silence of all of five seconds resounded in the room as everyone took in what Sakura had said.

Then all hell broke loose.

"WHAT! He left, just like _that!_ Well, points to Mr. Dramatic! He could've just told you he was going to leave, not just freaking disappear!" Ino's hands were gripping her hair, tight enough, in fact, that if someone were to give her arms a tug, she'd probably rip it out.

"God…" Ten-Ten whispered silently, "two years? That's a long time. And you just realized you liked him!" She smiled mischievously, in an attempt to lighten up the mood, "Well Naruto-kun better know what he's missing out on!"

Sakura lifted her hand to wipe away the tears she hadn't known she'd been crying. All those years of practice and training, and she still couldn't control her emotions. She was physically fit, but not emotionally.

"S-Sakura-san…I-if you wait f-for him, I'm s-sure he's w-waiting for you." Hinata said quietly.

Sakura let the sentiment Hinata was trying to give sink in.

Naruto surely was going to still love her when he got back, right? So maybe she wasn't sure if she felt that strongly about him, but she'd already reached her first step! If only…if only she could see him again, you know? So… if she waited for him to get back, they could maybe…

"I've got an idea, Forehead." Ino cut into Sakura's think time, triumphantly at that. "He's not going to have seen you for two years, and he's going to have been training the entire time, so he'll be Mr. Muscle-man, and I'll bet he'll be a looker," Ino winked suggestively, "So you'll just have to beat him! You'll be a total hottie when he gets back!"

'_Ino didn't say this, but I'll train hard too! I'll become stronger! I still have to prove myself to Sasuke, I'll go find him in two years, before Orochimaru transfers himself into his body, and I'll save him, and show him who's better!'_ Sakura mused, already feeling a bit better, _'I…I can't have Naruto-kun save him…then everything I've done will be worthless.'_

The pink-haired kunoichi smiled gratefully at her three friends, as they all individually gave her a hug and then one huge one together.

She was going to use these next two years to become the best that she could be.

_No matter what._

* * *

The years passed by with little trouble, a tough mission here, an upgrade there. The sun shone in through Sakura Haruno's bedroom window, rousing her from her nap.

She'd become consumed in her work, in her training, so much that a social life seemed like some sort of blessing, if she ever had the chance. She climbed out of her bed, her long pink hair cascading past her shoulders, nightgown slipping off her shoulder.

She padded over to her mirror, and gazed at her reflection. Two years had done her body good. Her breasts had filled out as much as they could into a B cup size, though, when her bindings were on, she appeared rather flat. She had grown only a few inches, and was now 5"6'. Not too short, not too tall. Sakura had let her hair grow out, a sign of independence, she thought to herself.

Long ago, she had cut her hair as a statement, and now, growing it out, so that it hung past her shoulder blades, was another asseveration of herself.

Her jade eyes had become deep and bright in colour, endless pools of jade that people often lost themselves staring into, and had a hard time determining her mood. Was she sad, mad, confused, or happy? They showed nothing of her inner workings, a shock to those who knew her four years ago.

Sakura Haruno used to be an open book.

Now she was a locked box.

Several months ago the Godaime had stated that Sakura was ready to join ANBU, which the kunoichi faithfully assigned herself to. She had been accepted into the elite team with top regards from those previously a part of it. Her medical prowess and brute strength had all but surpassed her need to study underneath Tsunade. Her shinobi abilities and jutsu archive was excessively large, and her motivational personality had her in the running for team leader at the tender age of 16 going on 17.

Sakura frowned as she remembered Tsunade-Shishou telling her she wasn't ready for such a responsibility, such a difficult task. Sakura trusted Tsunade's opinion more than anything, and had agreed that she wouldn't file or accept the position as team leader until the Godaime felt that it was a wise decision. Still, the medic-nin was fairly pleased with herself. She had aimed to reach the Jounin level, and had made ANBU.

A happy smile graced the kunoichi's prefect lips as she stripped out of her nightwear, and into a form-fitting traditional Haruno red dress, which ended just above her knees. She pulled her long rosette tresses back into a ponytail, and slipped on her white lab coat. Her blush bangs were the only part of her hair that she continuously cut, so as the keep them just below her cheekbone, and out of her way while performing her tasks at the hospital and on missions.

Sakura had worked late the other night at the hospital to cover for a colleague who was out on a mission. Sakura had an early morning shift the next day, or rather, that same day, as the time would have it, and so had taken a short nap to regenerate herself.

A clunk and the sound of ruffling feathers alerted Sakura that a messenger bird had landed on her windowsill.

'_What? I'm not expecting anything…'_

Sakura walked over to the bird, and slipped the rolled up scroll off of the holder on its back. She patted it on the head, and shooed it away, back to wherever it had come from.

As Sakura sat down in her hallway and tied her sandals with one hand, she open the note with the other, reading it aloud to herself.

"Sakura Haruno," She began, "Your presence is requested at the hospital immediately to remove the poison and treat the extensive wounds of a recently acquired patient named – oh God…"

* * *

**(AN)** **And that's that for this chapter! No worries about the cliffy, the next chapter isn't too far away. I hope everyone liked this chapter! The adventure part of my story is going to start up soon, and I'm unbelievably pumped! **

**Big hugs to ****(), ****Gnosismaster, ****Sareon, ****Krymsom, ****MIFED****, HokageNaruto, ****Stunna-kun****, Templar132, ****jere7782****, Manga Reader, ****Kabata4life****, full-metal-sousuke, ****gamerguy623****, and ****Grand Admiral Gin**** for reviewing Chapter 3: Realizations of Stand Alone :D The reviews are greatly appreciated. I love getting feedback on my story **

**Well, I'm off to buy some chocolate then continue onto Chapter 5, Please review!**


	5. Salutations

**(AN)**** It's like heaven in my mouth! Ew. You nasty perverted people, not THAT. It's the orange flavoured Cadbury chocolate! It's like a chocolate orange, only…flat. Since my craving was satisfied, this chapter has been finished in ULTRA SHORT TIME. And, believe it or not, I'm actually extremely happy with this chapter. Please enjoy this chapter of Stand Alone!**

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_Sakura Haruno, _

Your presence is requested at the hospital immediately to remove the poison and treat the extensive wounds of a recently acquired patient named Naruto Uzumaki, injured upon journeying to return to the Hidden Leaf.

Sakura sped towards the hospital via the rooftops, running as fast as her legs would take her.

_Naruto Uzumaki_

_Naruto Uzumaki_

_Naruto Uzumaki_

She kept repeating the name in her head as her feet pounded on one rooftop, and then another.

Was it her Naruto Uzumaki back? It had been two years, now that she thought about it. How had she possibly lost track of the time? All the crazy work loads, no doubt.

But now, now Naruto's back in Konoha!

…Being hospitalized for severe injuries. Poisoned, for Kami's sake! Where was Jiraiya-sama when all this had happened?

_'Please, let Naruto live through this! Let me be able to save him!'_ Sakura prayed to herself as she hurled herself through the front doors of the hospital, running up to the receptionist desk and snatching the clipboard off the desk with her name on it.

She sprinted down the hallway, reading over Naruto Uzumaki's medical information.

Room 137.

She stopped and looked at the number on the door beside her.

Room 52. Shit!

She ran down the hall, gliding down the side to avoid collision with any of the stretchers sitting idly in the halls. She whipped down a hall labeled, "100's" and kept her eyes glued to the numbers on the left hand side.

Room 101. Keep going. Room 123. Almost there. Room 137. Here!

She skidded to a stop and slid open the hospital doors, and didn't even give herself a moment to flinch as she saw an older version of Naruto, his bruised body, and short, labored breathing.

'_Stay focused. Do your job. You're the best, heal his wounds, then extract the poison.'_ Sakura chanted to herself as she looked over the clipboard once more and barked orders to nurses telling them what medical supplies she was going to need.

He was infected with a poison she was familiar with, and he was suffering from a couple broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, and broken wrist. Good lord, what did he do to himself?

Sakura was about to place the file down and start to mix some ointment for his cuts when she saw a small scripture hand written at the bottom of Naruto's transcript. It was in Tsunade-Shishou's handwriting, addressed to her.

'_What?'_

Sakura dropped her eyes to stare at the quickly scribbled message at the bottom of the sheet:

"_**Sakura,**_

_**Naruto Uzumaki is a special case. You've been through my files, I assume you know about the Kyuubi. It will help his wounds heal quickly. Don't panic. Stay focused. Do not extract or inject chakra through the seal."**_

The note was brief, but to the point. It was true she had seen the files. A year ago she had been helping Tsunade organize her office, and had come upon files with Naruto's name on them. Curiousity getting the best of her, she had taken a quick look, and was shocked by what she'd found.

Naruto Uzumaki was a Jinchuuriki, a holder of the Nine-tails. The Kyuubi. It explained his endless stamina. Immense supply of chakra. Why the villagers treated him so badly. At first Sakura had been hurt that Naruto hadn't told her about it, but then, it was private. His burden to bare.

The next emotion she experienced was immense dislike for the villagers. They had no right to treat Naruto like he was a demon! It wasn't like he, as a baby, had had a choice of whether or not he wanted to be a demon container. In Sakura's eyes, she saw him more as a savior, now. If the Kyuubi hadn't been sealed into him, where would it have gone? Why didn't the villagers think about _that_before getting all accusatory.

Sakura made a mental note of the Godaime's advice, and set the clipboard down, mixed a healing ointment and unraveled tensor bandages before placing them over Naruto's legs to rap him up later. She focused chakra into her hands and sealed the open wounds on his arms, chest, shoulders, and legs. He was _completely_ naked, but she tried not to dwell on that too much.

She placed her hands over Naruto's shoulders, focused chakra into his arm to numb the pain, and grabbed hold of his shoulder, jerking it back into place. She watched as a grimace spread across his already pained face.

"Sorry, Naruto…" Sakura whispered, even though she knew quite well that Naruto, despite his body's reactions, wasn't conscious.

Next she ran her hands over his stomach, once again, numbing down the pain. She forced a strong amount of chakra into her fingertips, lifting her hands off and back onto his body, carefully reassembling his ribcage. She then bound the bone with a chakra lace, to hold it in place until the Kyuubi's chakra sealed the bone, which Tsunade had told her it would. She still had to heal his wrist and extract the poison, so she couldn't go that far as to seal the bone entirely herself and still have enough chakra left.

Sakura delicately wrapped her hand around Naruto's wrist as the nurses finally returned with several mixing bowls and a variety of herbs, before scurrying out at Sakura's command. She closed her eyes as she imagined the inner workings of his wrist, and tentatively felt around for where the break was. When she found it, and luckily it wasn't all that bad, she pumped chakra into his wrist, another lace to act almost as if it were glue.

The medic-nin wasn't ready to relax yet. She half walked half jogged over to the medical cart that had been dropped off and began mixing the herbs, liquids, and powders together in the bowls, before combining them all in a smaller bowl, compressed with her chakra. The chemical reaction created a lavender coloured liquid, which Sakura carefully poured into a small vial, before capping it and shaking it.

No bubbles.

Perfect.

She walked over to Naruto's bed, gently lifted his head, and coaxed his mouth open to swallow the antidote.

After she'd emptied the last drop into Naruto's mouth, she tilted his head back to make sure it all had gone down his throat. Good.

Satisfied with her work, she set to wrapping the bandages around his wrist, waist, and shoulder blade, so that when Naruto woke up, he might have the common sense – unlikely, but plausible – to not jolt or attempt to use those parts of his body without caution. After the finished wrapping his wounds and checking his vitals, making sure he was stable, she pulled the blanket back up over his body and stopped it just below his neck, on his collarbone.

Sakura pulled a chair up from the small table in the side of the room, and set it beside Naruto's bed, facing the window. She sat down, after grabbing the clipboard and a pen, ready to write her report on 'Mr. Uzumaki's' condition. Plus, she had to wait ten minutes before checking over his body, to make sure that the antidote had kicked in.

She scribbled down the following notes for Tsunade to look at after the day was over. Actually, Sakura mused to herself, _she'd_ probably be the one looking the majority of them over, after Tsunade-shishou got bored.

- Stable Condition

- Resealed ribs, wrist, and shoulder

- Received antidote No. 14

- Minor cuts and damage treated

- Scheduled for check up every hour

After Sakura felt about ten minutes had passed, she pressed her index and middle fingers together to Naruto's throat, pleased at the steady rate of his pulse. She felt down his chest and stomach, checking for any arterial clogs, but found none.

He was going to have a good recovery.

Sakura finally let herself exhale a relieved breath, and flopped down onto her chair. She wasn't aware of how much time had passed since she'd started treating her teammate, but she guessed that it was sometime in the late afternoon. Her chakra was running low from single-handedly performing a healing that usually took several medic-nins. Still, she pumped a small amount of chakra into her shoulders, trying to untie the stress knots that had formed upon hearing that Naruto had returned in a less-than-healthy state.

She stood up, clipboard in hand, and with one last glance at Naruto's sleeping form, she headed out the door, in search of Tsunade, or better, Jiraiya-sama, so she could ask him just what the hell was he thinking when he let Naruto get so hurt?

Sakura slid open Room 137's door, and, low and behold, she found both of them, standing out in the hall, having a conversation. Albeit, Tsunade was leaning against the wall, and Jiraiya was strapped down onto a stretcher.

Well, you don't see that everyday.

The pink-haired medic-nin pulled the door shut as quietly as she could, and walked over to join the two Sannin, who, upon seeing her, put their conversation on hold.

Funny. Not really. Weird.

"Hey, Tsunade-Shishou, Jiraiya-sama. You look…" she glanced at Tsunade, then back at Jiraiya, "unwell." She smiled cheerfully, despite the sudden feeling of fatigue that coursed through her.

"Sakura," Tsunade began, "How is Naruto's condition?"

Sakura handed Tsunade her clipboard to look over, and then turned to Jiraiya.

"Excuse my brashness, Jiraiya-sama, demo, how did Narutoreceive such wounds? I thought the whole point of his departure," her heart stung as she remembered her feelings after his disappearance two years prior, "was for him to become stronger."

Jiraiya did not respond, but shifted his eyes to Tsunade, who gave him a curt nod, her eyes still trailing down the paper.

Oh, shit. He needed _permission_ to tell her what had happened?

"Well, you're her apprentice, and his teammate. I assume you know about the Kyuubi?"

Sakura nodded for him to continue.

"Well then, this should be rather simple. We had a little run in with the Akatsuki."

Sakura joined the Godaime leaning against the wall, but for entirely different reasons. She needed it to support her, otherwise she feared she'd be a small pink heap on the floor.

'_We had a little run in with the Akatsuki? You can't just say it like that! With them, it's never just 'little' it's huge! Hugely dangerous!'_

"Have no fear, Sakura-chan," Jiraiya quickly amended, "As you can see, he's quite fine."

"Q-Quite f-f-f-fine?" Sakura stuttered angrily. Oh yes, with her training with Tsunade, she'd also acquired her temper. "Are you aware that he had over two broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, broken wrist, and severe _poisoning_? And…and you call that quite fine?" Sakura's eyebrow twitched, "He was _this_ close to dying, and forgive me, Jiraiya-sama, but you're THIS close to feeling my wrath!"

That eyebrow just kept twitching.

"That's enough, Sakura." Tsunade cut in, before Jiraiya needed to go to the ER. Again.

"Compared to what it could've been," Tsunade cut in, as Sakura curbed her temper, "Everything turned out rather well. Naruto still has his Kyuubi, is alive, and so is Jiraiya, buffoon that he is."

'_That's right…but if they ran into the Akatsuki, how'd they get away?'_ Sakura couldn't help but wonder.

Jiraiya, almost as if reading her mind, answered her question with his next statement.

"The encounter was completely unexpected, for both parties. There was only one Akatsuki, and all would've been well if Naruto hadn't gone and gotten himself poisoned previously. Some snake, no less." Jiraiya shook his head sadly, and Sakura couldn't help but smile. Getting bitten and poisoned by a snake was such a Naruto thing to do. "I handled him the best I could, but I let him get away. It was in favour of taking Naruto here. As you can see, I didn't get out unscathed." A look of remorse filled Jiraiya's face, and Sakura almost felt sorry for him. "How will I attract the ladies looking like this?"

Almost. _Almost._

* * *

Sakura's conversation with the two Sannin hadn't lasted long. Tsunade was taking care of Jiraiya, while Sakura was assigned to take care of Naruto. She didn't really have to put up an argument. She would get a replacement to take her place at 2:00am.

Every hour the kunoichi checked up on Naruto's vitals, wounds, etcetera. It was already late evening, and Sakura was preparing for yet another all-nighter when she heard a sound coming from Naruto's bed.

"W-what?" Came Naruto's – sweet Kami – deep voice, laced with confusion. "Where am I?" Realization dawned on his face as he eyes skipped along the dimly lit hospital room. "Aw, shit. The hospital? _Again?"_

Sakura smiled as she heard her teammates grumbling, obviously, he hadn't seen her yet. She was standing in the far corner of the room, cleaning some of the equipment that she'd used today.

'_It seems Naruto and I both acquired some rather bad language over the years' _Sakura giggled to herself, as Naruto continued cursing himself, completely unaware that she was in the room.

Her giggle gave herself away.

Naruto's face snapped in her direction, and it took him a minute to take in the pink strands of hair delicately hanging in front of her face, and her jade eyes, illuminated by the moonlight shining through the window.

"S-Sakura-chan…?" Naruto questioned. His voice was filled with many different emotions. Surprise, confusion, anticipation, excitement and… disappointment? What was that about?

Sakura stepped out of the shadows, with a soft feeling of excitement forming in the balls of her feet. _This was it. _She hadn't seen him for two years, and now it's their reunion. How would she tell him that she had feelings for him? How would he react to how she looked? When he found out she was ANBU? So many thoughts were flying through her mind as she sat down on the chair beside his bed, genuinely smiling into his eyes, his beautiful, cerulean eyes.

She let her eyes wander over him, taking him in for the first real time since she'd seen him. He'd definitely grown up. His body was long and lean; she guessed he was at least over 6 feet tall. He, as she remembered from fixing his ribs, was definitely sporting it in the abs department. His arms were muscular and his face had a mature glow to it, and his blond hair, still so characteristically messy, was just a little bit longer than it had been when he'd left. So he took care of his hair, did he? Sakura laughed at the thought.

As she looked him over, she realized that all his superficial cuts and bruises were already completely healed.

'_Amazing.' _

Sakura stood up to go get her clipboard and write down about his continued recovery, but his arm shot out and took hold of her wrist, pulling her down to sit on the side of his hospital bed, along side his lying form.

He didn't say anything. He was just staring at her.

Simply staring at her.

Sakura felt the need to say something, and his touch still lingered on her arm, even though he'd already let go.

"It's nice to see you back, Naruto." She said with real affection in her voice. She hoped he might notice. Still, she couldn't help but add laughingly, "Next time though, when you want to make your grand macho entrance, try not to do it via the hospital, okay?"

Naruto broke his stare and smiled bashfully, lifting his good arm to rub the back of his head, which resulted in ruffling his already mussed hair. "Aw, Sakura-chan. This wasn't how it was supposed to be…" He whined, "I was supposed to come back all strong and in shape, not crippled in a hospital bed. Just my luck, right?" He laughed out.

Sakura could easily tell that what he was saying was half fun, whole earnest. He really didn't like having her see him like this.

"Were you the one who treated me?" Naruto questioned, flexing his fingers on his right arm.

'_God, his wrist is healed already? Amazing…'_

"Yes, Naruto. To…to be completely honest, you gave me a panic attack." Sakura whispered silently, turning to look down at his face. His eyes filled with concern and confusion, and she reached into the pocket of her white jacket, and pulled out the small scroll that she'd received that morning, and passed it to Naruto to read.

He unrolled the scripture, his eyes roaming the text. After he'd reached the end, he gave Sakura a pathetic attempt at a smile, "Sorry, Sakura-chan. That bad, huh?"

Sakura nodded solemnly at Naruto, but she smiled, "But you're okay now, Naruto. Haruno-sensei has taken care of you." She giggled as he wrinkled up his nose. He was obviously displeased with being babied. She took it further, "Do you want a lolly-pop for your sore belly, Uzumaki-_chan_?" Sakura hinted towards Naruto's bandaged ribs.

"shuddup…" Naruto muttered, as he struggled to sit up. Sakura got off the bed and helped him up, propping pillows behind his back.

"You know, Naruto, you really shouldn't be sitting up."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto waved the comment off. Go figure. Typical Naruto: Who cares?

Their steady flow of bantering came to a stop as Sakura sat back down in her chair, and Naruto leaned against the wall, staring contemplatively at her.

Sakura shifted self-consciously in her chair. She knew this was her cue to confess her feelings to Naruto. She opened her mouth to speak, but even as she formed the words, 'Naruto…I like you, as more than a friend' in her mind, no sound would escape from between her lips.

Why couldn't she say it?

The corners of Naruto's mouth pulled up just the slightest bit.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, it's been a while, hasn't it?" He was talking about since they'd last seen each other.

"Yeah, Naruto. It has." She answered back. And it really had been. The first year had been something of torture to her. She'd missed him, and their short lunchtime conversations, so much that she'd taken out an even bigger workload so as to avoid having the time to think about it. ANBU in the second year had her forgetting just about everything but the task at hand, thus losing track of time.

Another extended silence.

"Do you remember, Sakura-chan, what I said to you before I left?" He questioned her.

'_Oh no…is…is he going to take it back? He looks so serious and sad. What…What if he found someone else while he was gone?'_ The scary thing about that that was that it was entirely possible. Two years was a long time to hold on. Sakura had, but Naruto…how long had he been feeling that way about her?

Probably way longer than she knew.

"Yes, Naruto, I remember." _Very clearly and word for word._

"It still stands, Sakura-chan."

Sakura shot her gaze at Naruto, scanning his eyes to check for honesty. He was entirely serious. He wasn't telling her he didn't love her. He was telling her that he still did.

This was it. The time to tell him that even though she wasn't sure if she loved him, she really, really liked him. That his touch set her on fire. That his voice made a quiver go up her back. That his gaze had her heart beating rapidly. She'd thought about it for two years, damn it!

But he wasn't done. He just had to mention _him. _

"I…I know that you probably still have feelings for Sasuke – Sakura-chan, don't look at me like that – but even though I look like this right now, I swear, I'll keep my promise and bring him back –"

"I don't want him back."

" – To you – what?" Naruto's voiced was filled with bewilderment. Obviously, her response was _not_ the response he was expecting.

"I told you," Sakura stated, trying to muster up enough courage to tell him everything that she could. "I don't want Sasuke back. I never did. Naruto, there's been a terribly misunderstanding." Her vision became misty, as her eyes filled with unshed tears.

She was crying _again_, damnit!

"The reason I wanted to get so strong was to prove to Sasuke that I'm not weak. I wanted to get Sasuke back so I could show him that _I_ saved _him_, not the other way around. Naruto…I-I don't know how to say how flattered I am that you would've gone and brought him back just for me, but getting – saving – him is something that _I_ have to do."

Naruto's, despite her touching speech, response was to say, "Oh." That's it, seriously, just "Oh."

But Sakura wasn't done.

"Naruto, I didn't get to tell you this, because you just disappeared, but –" Here it was, the moment of truth, "I really like you…as more than a friend. And though I may not be sure how strong these feelings are, I'm willing to –mmmph!"

The kunoichi didn't get a chance to continue her babbling, as Naruto had leaned in closer, and captured her lips in his. His mouth moved to give her a sweet kiss, but it was filled with all the love he had for her, and she could feel it.

It was mind blowing.

She kissed him back, with everything she had, with all the pent up feelings she'd had over the past two years being unable to see him, talk to him, touch him. His left hand reached up to cup her cheek, pulling her in closer. She moved to sit on the side of his bed, without breaking the kiss.

She wasn't sure how long they'd been sitting there, just kissing, her left hand entwined with his right. But they quickly broke apart as the door slid open, and a stream of light poured in from the hallway.

2:00am. Time for her replacement.

Naruto and Sakura were both at a loss for breath, staring deeply into each other's eyes.

Sakura quickly stood up before the nurse saw them, - luckily she'd gone to get something from the cabinets and had her back to them – and brushed out her dress. She kissed Naruto on the forehead, and removed the pillows from behind his back, to help him lie down. She brushed the hair back out of his face as the nurse approached them as silent as she could, so as to not 'wake' the patient.

Naruto feigned sleep.

Sakura spoke silently and quickly to the nurse, who nodded several times in response, before taking a seat on the chair Sakura had pulled up previously.

Sakura took one last look at the 'sleeping' form of Naruto, glad that the darkness of the room hadn't allowed the nurse to see the prominent blush on her cheeks, before slipping out of the hospital room, shutting the door behind her.

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**(AN)**** Holy cow! I didn't end it with a cliff hanger! Now, c'mon, that's something. I hope everyone liked it, because I know I sure did like writing it. I wrote this one with music playing, so that might be why…but whatever. For those who don't know:**

**I hope everyone liked this chapter and has the chance to review! The action/adventure part of this story is creeping up faster than I thought it would, but it's got me really excited. However, I regret to inform you that I'm going on vacation on and off for the next few weeks, and I'm gone for three weeks straight, in the middle of nowhere, with NO COMPUTER, good grief. So, in an attempt to deal with that, I'm going to TRY to post a couple chapters in a row, to sedate you all while I'm gone. Cool? Cool.**

**I admire ****Gnosismaster****, Krymsom, ****Templar132****, Kabata4life, ****Sareon, ****jere7782, ****MICHIIA****, doom-stay982, ****and ****Stunna-kun for managing to review that last chapter before I posted this one. **

**Until next time, dancer-me (munches chocolate)**


	6. Contemplations

**(AN)**** Chapter 5 is here! I had my ultimate fight scene music playing while I wrote this, and I was seriously picturing it in my mind. However, I didn't do it to the best of my ability, because I'm trying to save some for the major fight scenes coming up. This is **_**bordering**_** on being filler, because it's informative, but I like it anyway! OOH! Something cool I learned! (Grins widely) The Japanese word for "Spiral" is "Uzumake" which is extremely close to "Uzumaki". It probably has to do with the spiral seal on his stomach:D I bet everyone knew that already…but I swear I was giddy when I found that out. Excuse my language in this chapter (grins sheepishly) this story is rated M for many reasons!**

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Naruto lay in his hospital bed, staring idly out the window. His head rested on his arms propped behind his neck, as his mind tried to take in everything that had recently happened.

_'Sakura-chan said she liked me…and I kissed her. God, she didn't try to stop me, either.'_

Naruto's smile was goofy as he remembered the other night when he'd met Sakura in his hospital room. She had looked so…so much like how she used to, but at the same time, some things about her were so different. She hadn't grown that much in height, but her hair, however, had definitely lengthened. She still styled it the same way, still dressed the same way.

A frown marred Naruto's perfectly content face as he thought about his pink kunoichi's eyes. Over the years, he, and just about everyone else in the village had seen the shift in her attitude.

Her overworking, excessive learning, and hard ass demeanor.

Her eyes were no longer as soft and warm as he'd remembered as a 12 year old. No, they had iced over that day, so many years ago, but for what reason? His eyes turned glossy as he tried to focus on the other things she'd said the night before.

_'She said…she said that she was working hard to become strong to prove something to the teme? Why…she doesn't have anything to prove to him anymore!'_

Sasuke had left, and Sakura wanted to save him to prove that she was strong. If all the while he was gone, she was training and training, and when she wasn't training, she was training, Naruto couldn't help but worry if she was over-doing it. She had healed him so quickly, an obvious tribute to how much she had improved.

Naruto fisted his hands in frustration as he remembered the reason why he was where he was. Bandaged, broken and put to bed arrest, compliments of his Sakura-chan.

_Flashback:_

_A tall figure stood in the distance, his black cloak smothered in red clouds. _

_Akatsuki._

_Naruto and Jiraiya crouched behind a large rock, attempting to analyze to situation. Naruto watched as Jiraiya closed his eyes, searching for the chakra signature of the figure's partner. He opened his eyes and shook his head._

"_This is certainly odd. Akatsuki travel in pairs while on a mission." Jiraiya whispered to Naruto, who was leaned against the rock, his breathing somewhat irregular. "But I don't sense any one else here but us three. That being said, it's safe to assume that our presence is just as unexpected as his."_

_Naruto nodded in acknowledgement. "So what do we do, Ero-Sennin?" Naruto flinched as another wave of pain shot up his body. He had had an unfortunate encounter with a less-than-happy snake while fishing in the morning. _

'Fuck.'_ Naruto cursed to himself. '_I'm supposed to be on my way home. To Konoha…to Sakura-chan…'_ Naruto closed his eyes as he tried to remember his last encounter with the pink-haired kunoichi. _

_Everything was screwing up. He gets bitten by a God-forsaken poisonous snake, and now what? They run into a lost Akatsuki?_

'This can't be happening.'

"_In any case," Jiraiya continued, "He's in our way. It's only a matter of time before he realizes we're here. Our only choice is to fight." He shot a worried glance in Naruto's direction. "You're in no condition to do so."_

"_Shut-up, Ero-sennin," Naruto complained as he shifted his position to be ready to pounce. "I'm going to fight."_

_Naruto didn't wait for an answer. He quickly rose to his feet and – whoa there. His vision was totally funkatatious. He leaned a little to the right and – yup, definitely not a good sign. Every few seconds his sight split in two, and trees somehow gained the power to multiply. _

'It's all good…I can work with this.'_ Naruto muttered to himself as he placed his hands together._

"_Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

_An endless supply of Naruto's filled up the quarry within the acreages of forestry, almost succeeding in entirely encasing the Akatsuki. With a closer look, Naruto realized that he'd seen this particular one before._

'_Shit! This guy – shark – he's…he's the one that's partnered with Itachi Uchiha!'_

"Kisame…"_ Naruto spat the name out, his eyes swiftly searching the area for any signs of his partner. This wasn't a situation he wanted to be in and – fuck, his head hurt. There weren't two of them, were there?_

_Kisame turned around slowly, having been aware of the number one loudest ninja's presence beforehand. Still, it slightly bothered him that he hadn't noticed the chakra signature till moments before the shinobi called his jutsu. _

"_Soo ka…So you've come to play…" He drawled in that creepy, bordering on falsetto voice. The Akatsuki took in his current situation. Thousands of Kage Bunshins surrounded him, all glaring and ready to fight. A macabre grin spread onto Kisame's face as his arm shot up and grabbed his sword off his back. _

_In mere seconds his feet had shifted and his sword was drawn and swinging, dispatching every Naruto in his path. _

_Naruto's eye twitched as he watched his Kage Bunshin's disappear two by two and three by three into clouds of smoke. '_If only this could have happened when I was 100 percent.' _His jaw clenched as he too took on his fighting stance, and charged Kisame within the smoke of his fallen clones._

"_Naruto Ninpocho, Shihou Hapou Shuriken no Maki!"_

_Thousands of shuriken went flying through the cloudy veil, heading directly for the preoccupied Akatsuki._

_It wouldn't be that easy though. Kisame's grin just kept growing as Samahada swung around to deflect the incoming weapons._

"_You'll have to do better than that, Jinchuuriki_." _Kisame all but laughed out._ _He took such a sick pleasure from fighting. _

_However, Naruto's grin all but matched Kisame's as the shuriken, upon being deflected, had shrunk to a microscopic size. Naruto spread his arms wide as the shuriken flew back up into the air, and above Kisame. _

"_Naruto Ninpocho, Uzumake Shihou Hapou Shuriken no Maki!"_

_The shuriken suddenly grew to their normal size as they came shooting down at Kisame from above, descending in a spiral whirlwind. This was a personal alteration Naruto had made to the jutsu. He'd learned that full frontal attacks were all but useless aside from pissing the target off. _

"_What?" Kisame barked as he attempted to dodge the oncoming attack._

'Bad move…'_ Naruto's grin became larger as the Akatsuki sidestepped right into the side of the cyclonic shurikens. _

_Kisame cursed as he jumped back into the center of the impetuous blades. The entire right side of his cloak was in tatters, his bloodied arm looking far worse than it actually was. His arm was barely grazed, almost equivalent to the fiendish results of multiple paper cuts. _

_Amidst Naruto's triumphant feelings, his was increasingly aware of the fact that he was becoming unable to feel his legs. '_Shit…this has to end soon, or I'm screwed.'_ As Naruto frantically tried to come up with another plan of action, his swirling shuriken fortress was becoming less and less impenetrable._

_Kisame smirked as he realized that the whirlwind was becoming a one-sided cylinder. Now, the only way out was up. He crouched and channeled chakra into his legs, before shooting up out of the trap. _

_The escape was as easy as he'd expected. What he hadn't expected was for the shuriken to follow him._

'What the fuck is _this?'_ _Kisame cursed as he continuously evaded the onslaught of rotating blades. His beady eyes finally took in Naruto's state. Said ninja was kneeled down by a rock, panting. It finally occurred to Kisame that Naruto wasn't in good shape. At all._

_Still, it pissed him off to no end that the Kyuubi container, coughing up blood and out of breath, was still giving him a hard time with completely unreal jutsus._

_Kisame swung Samahada continuously at the shuriken until they all fell to the ground. Just as he thought. The Jinchuuriki's mind was too clouded to keep his focus together. _

_With his newly acquired knowledge, Kisame wielded his sword with both hands and lunged at Naruto._

_Naruto's head shot up as he felt Kisame quickly closing in on him. '_Shit!'_ Naruto jumped into the air just in time to see three Samahada's collide with the rock he'd just been leaning against._

'Fuck, three?'_ Naruto's thinking was becoming more and more incoherent as the poison spread throughout his body. The only thing that kept him moving wasn't the fact that he could _feel_ his body parts, but rather that he had to trust that they were _there_. _

"_Fuck!" Naruto swore as the butt of Samahada collided with his stomach, and he went flying into and through several trees. He was given no time to gather his thoughts as the Akatsuki was up close and personal with his face._

"_Feeling a little under the weather, ne?"_ _Kisame cooed ghoulishly as he swung Samahada down upon Naruto._

"_Kawarimi no jutsu!" _

_Kisame's sword collided with a large tree trunk. He spun around just in time to deflect three kunai. His eyes locked onto the sagging form of Naruto. He'd definitely broken something with his last blow. _

'Where the hell is Ero-Sennin!'_ Naruto swore as he tried to ignore the painful ache in his stomach. '_Oh, so now I can feel you?'_ He glared down at his chest as he strafed left and right, avoiding punches and ducking lunges of Samahada. _

_Naruto knew very well that in his state he had absolutely no hope of defeating Kisame. However, he could still cause significant damage that would give Jiraiya and himself a chance to escape. '_That's if I make it out of here alive…Sakura-chan, this is not good…'

_Naruto tried to shake the pessimistic feeling. He _would_ make it out of this. Naruto back flipped through the air, barely missing the ragged edges of Samahada. He flung shuriken from both hands, before whispering, "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu" and morphing his replica into a small shuriken form, allowing the copy to join the flying blades. _

_Kisame eyed the shuriken rapidly approaching him in an X formation. He laughed at Naruto's stupidity as he lifted his sword to guard his face. All the other shuriken would miss him except for the one blade where the two lines meet. _

_The attack was deflected as planned, but as the final shuriken in formation flew past Kisame's face, it rapidly grew larger in a puff of smoke. The Akatsuki didn't have enough time to curse as he quickly dodged to the left as the Kage Bunshin pulled a kunai out of his pack and sliced it across Kisame's face. _

_Kisame swore as the clone then braced himself on his shoulders, hauling himself up and over the larger man. That knife had obviously been aimed at his throat. _

_Kisame wiped the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, his playful manner quickly dissipating into that of anger. He spun around and watched in awe as the Jinchuuriki, struggling to stay standing, held his palm outstretched whilst his copy formed a blazing blue ball on top. _

"_Rasengan!"_

_Naruto plunged forward towards Kisame at a frightening pace. Kisame flipped his sword in front of himself and dug the blade into the ground, rapidly appearing behind Naruto, grabbing his left shoulder as his right hand collided with Samahada. A sickening snap was heard as Naruto's wrist bent in an awkward way against the hard build of the sword, and the sharp edges dug into his knuckles. _

_Kisame pulled Naruto's left arm back as he fiercely pushed his left shoulder forward. The Akatsuki wasn't given the pleasure of hearing Naruto scream out in anguish because fuck, that should've hurt like a bitch. Naruto was too far gone in the poisoning process; he could barely feel his arm, let alone his shoulder. _

"_RASENGAN!" What the fuck? Kisame released Naruto as he heard a multitude of voices that did not belong to the blond. _

_Naruto fell to the ground, hearing Ero-Sennin's shouts. His eyes fluttered open to see at least ten copies of Jiraiya racing towards Kisame, all wielding 'Rasengan'. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Naruto registered that to be able to have Kage Bunshin's each make their own Rasengan took a shit-load of Chakra, and that was probably what took Jiraiya so long. _

_His world faded black before he could hear, let alone see Jiraiya's attack instigated. _

_End Flashback_

Naruto didn't remember what happened after that, but judging by the fact that he was still alive, and in Konoha, he had to assume that _something_ did go right. However… Naruto scrunched his brow together.

'_Ero-Sennin probably kicked the shit out of himself doing that attack as well…'_

What he _did_ remember was waking up, and feeling totally and completely disoriented. He'd looked around for a few seconds, before surmising that he was, once again, in the fucking hospital. Hell, he should just pack up his apartment and move in. Put a little plaque on the door saying, 'Uzumaki Naruto's Ward'.

It was around that time that he'd heard a soft giggle, and it had taken all but a few seconds for him to decipher the vibrant pink strands of hair, and luminous jade eyes, glowing mystically in the light of the moon.

His heart had skipped several beats as she slowly approached him. Gazillion things went through his mind within the few seconds it took for Sakura to come take a seat beside his bed.

Holy fucking shit. It's Sakura-chan.

She's seeing me after I got the shit kicked out of me.

GodKami, her hair's long.

Wow. Just…wow.

Maybe it wasn't that many things, but it was more than enough for him to feel totally and completely dumbstruck when Sakura spoke to him. It was around then that he realized that he'd been staring at her.

He'd realized that she was the one that healed him, and he'd felt really, really stupid. Seriously, he'd left to become strong, and Sakura had to save his ass? Maybe…maybe this was how she felt all the time when he was saving hers?

He was seeing her on a whole new level.

Naruto was snapped out of his reverie when the hospital room door slid open, and Sakura came walking in.

Her eyes were bright and happy, which caused Naruto to adorn a humongous – hey, check out my chops – smile.

'_But…'_ Naruto focused a bit longer on her eyes, '_There's something different their. She's doing a good job of hiding it, but it's there…'_

Sakura noticed Naruto scrutinizing her.

"Ne, Naruto, How are you feeling? Is your shoulder bothering you?" Concern spread across her face as she quickly approached him, running her fingers lightly over his arm, and up onto his shoulder.

He couldn't help the shudder that passed through his body. In addition, he was juggling the ultimate confusion. Years ago, she'd called him Naruto, in a totally derogatory way. Now, she was calling him Naruto…but somehow, it felt way different. It felt affectionate.

"No, Sakura-chan, my shoulder's perfectly fine." He assured her.

"That's something that amazes me."

"What?"

"That your shoulder _is_ perfectly fine. That's just…" He watched her as she searched her mind for the right word, "unreal." She finally decided.

Naruto's eyes widened as he suddenly thought of the fact that Sakura didn't know about the Kyuubi. Of course, his rapid healing would be miraculous. He began to squirm nervously. How was he going to get out of this one?

Her index finger was pressed against her bottom lip as she assessed him, her head tilted at a curious angle. "The Kyuubi is amazing…"

Naruto visibly sweat-dropped. She _knew!_ Wasn't she going to flip out and call him a monster? Sever all connections with him?

Sakura noticed his uncomfortable aura. She realized what she'd said.

"Oh," She apologized, "I'm sorry for talking about your personal business…but, um, I found out while helping Tsunade-shishou file and I had to take it into account while healing you but I really –"

Naruto cut her off.

"And you don't find it…disturbing?" He questioned. "You don't think of me as a monster?"

She looked at him as if he were the biggest dumbass in the world.

"Of course I don't think of you as a monster!" She would've whacked him upside the head if she hadn't been mindful of his state, or lack there of…but whatever. "It's just…I'm more worried about you now. It…it explains why the Akatsuki were chasing you," She ran her fingers through her rosette bangs. "and when Jiraiya-sama told me that you had a conflict with Akatsuki, I totally freaked out."

Oh. Well, this was an odd turn of events.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan." Naruto attempted to sooth her, "It was a totally freak encounter. They – he – wasn't looking for me." Naruto was pleased when he saw Sakura's stance relax. In addition, he breathed a sigh of relief as he heard Sakura mention Ero-Sennin. That meant that he was okay.

Sakura was silent for a few moments, before releasing her hair, and bringing up the clipboard that she'd been holding in her right hand.

"I almost forgot to tell you," Sakura smiled happily, as if she'd completely brushed off the earlier conversation. Naruto, however, could read her better. She was _trying_ and _failing_ to brush off the earlier conversation. "Because of your recovery speed, I'll be able to discharge you around noon."

Naruto whooped happily at the prospect of being able to escape the life of being constantly monitored. He'd also be able to catch up with all the other shinobi. Sweet deal.

Sakura turned and headed towards the door.

"Wait, Sakura-chan." Naruto pouted, "You're leaving?"

"Naruto, I have other patients, you know." Sakura scolded him. But, at the same time, she'd turned around, and with flushed cheeks, placed a short but sweet kiss upon his lips.

'_Oh yes,'_ Naruto thought as he watched Sakura leave the room, '_This is going to be a good day.'_

* * *

**(AN)**** Cha-ching. That's that. I liked this chapter. O.O You know what I realized? That my lemon chapter is closer than my adventure part of this story. Daaaaaaaamn. Oh well (winks) I definitely know where I'm going from here with my story, I've got most of it all planned out. I also haven't forgotten the whole point of this story either. It just sucks that I'm going on vacation soon (I never thought I'd say that) and I won't be able to type everything up. **

**Many thanks to: ****Templar132****, Gnosismaster, ****Meca Vegeta****, ****Kabata4life****, jere7782, ****Krymsom****, Sakurastears, ****rickp2006****, tennisdesi91, ****doom-stay982****, Sareon, ****Advent Griever****, full-metal-sousuke, ****Grand Admiral Gin****, gamerguy623, ****FreetodrinkSR****, Stunna-kun, ****kiki****, The Yondaime, ****and**** OmalleyFlowers for reviewing chapter 4 of Stand Alone, "Salutations". I love to read reviews! **

**Ps: To those who are confused about the characteristic alterations I made to my characters appearances, here's the way I see it. They (Sakura and Naruto) look almost exactly like they do in Shippuuden, only Sakura has long hair (her breast size doesn't really matter, because they're always wrapped down) and just generally looks older. Naruto's hair is the same length, he's the same height, and visually, identical. lol, I seriously think he's hot in shippuuden, and I couldn't bear to change anything about him!**


	7. Consolations

**(AN)**** No, seriously, I'm leaving on vacation NOW. Me go 'bye bye' in a couple of hours, but I felt I had to leave with another chapter in my wake. You know what's really depressing? I was reading this romance novel, which had the potential for a great sex scene, and when it came up, my god, it was like: 'when she gently pushed him down on the bed and kissed down his chest, he thought he might die from the pleasure. And, when she finally straddled him, it took all his control not to lose himself in the tight warmth of her. Sometime later…' I swear I could've cried. I was like, W…T….F! So, I promise you, when my lemon chapter comes alone, I will NOT do that to you! With that in mind, enjoy this extra-long chapter, because you can't have any for three weeks!**

* * *

Naruto walked the streets of Konoha, his nose taking in all the familiar smells he had missed so much on his trip. He had traveled to tons of different countries, learning specific jutsus from each place.

Naruto picked up his pace as his eyes fell on a small stand labeled, 'Ichiraku'. He took a seat on one of the stools, and quickly ordered up some Misu Ramen. Ayame, the girl who ran the shop, smiled brightly at him, and gave him an extra large bowl.

'_Oh. No one here's seen that I'm back yet, have they?'_ Naruto concluded as he pulled apart his chopsticks. _'I just _had_ to use the hospital doors as my dramatic entrance…'_

"Oh my God! It _is!"_

"What? It's _what?_ Where are you looking?"

"I-It's Naruto-kun!"

Naruto's back tensed up as he heard a small stampede of sandaled feet charging at him. It was only a matter of seconds before they were all over him.

'_R-rampaging k-k-kunoichi?'_ Naruto panicked as Ino, Ten-Ten, and even Hinata stood around him, checking him out. '_Shit…did I do something stupid before I left? What! I don't remember!'_

"_You." _Ino demanded, a delicate well-manicured finger in his face, "Has forehead seen you yet?"

Naruto was a little scared to answer. '_I don't get a, 'hey, welcome back, we missed you'? In its place, I get a death threat…'_ The flames obviously burning in her eyes were evidence to support that fact.

"Um, yeah, she's seen me already."

"What? She's _seen_ you already? So what in God's name are you doing _here?"_ Ino countered.

"Well…I mean…we've talked already too?" Naruto was, for the first time, conscious of not giving away too much information. Like, for example, 'Oh yeah, I saw her in the ER. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know what happened after that? I totally made out with her for Kami knows how long!' Not a good thing to say. Or so he thought.

Ino, who looked much the same as he remembered her, was not pleased with his answers. She plunked down on a stool in frustration.

"You're gone for two years…and you come back…and all YOU do is TALK?"

'_S-she's snapped…' _Naruto stared at Ino in horror as she continued ranting. Ten-Ten and Hinata just stood patiently off to the side, careful to stay out of range of the Yamanaka's wrath.

"I mean, come ON Uzumaki you idiot! At least make a move on her! You left dramatically enough," Ino sat up straight, crossed her legs, and leaned in towards Naruto. She clasped her hands beside her face, her eyes resembling glittering stars. She mimicked his voice. "I love you with everything I have!"

Naruto blushed profusely, "You-you heard that?"

Ino feigned innocence. "Of course not, Naruto-_kun_, I just guessed."

Ten-Ten eyed Ino suspiciously, but said nothing.

"W-welcome back, Naruto-kun."

Naruto turned away from Ino to face Hinata. Her stuttering problem – which was mostly due to nervousness – had improved over the years. Naruto smiled brightly at Hinata, returning the gesture. As Sakura had, all the other kunoichi seemed to have been growing their hair out as well.

"So, Naruto," Ten-Ten finally cut in, attempting to reinforce the previous topic as she leaned against the counter of 'Ichiraku'. "Are you planning on going out with Sakura?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Well…um, actually, I was going to see if she'd go out with me tonight –"

"Good luck with that, idiot." Ino muttered from her newly slouched position against the table. Her behaviour was the complete opposite from what it had been moments ago. She seemed…depressed.

"Why?" Naruto questioned, looking back and forth now between the downcast faces of the previously hyperactive kunoichi.

Hinata fidgeted nervously. "S-Sakura-san…is very b-busy."

Ten-Ten guffawed, watching as Ino turned her icy blue stare upon Naruto. He didn't mean to be poetic, but it seemed, as he curiously looked directly back into her gaze, that the frozen resilience in her eyes was melting.

"Yeah," Ino whispered, "she's real busy."

Naruto watched her clench and unclench her fists, starting to become very uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"Things have changed since four years ago, Naruto. You know that as well as the rest of us do." Ino breathed out. Ten-Ten and Hinata nodded their agreement.

"Sakura-chan started to become determined to be strong." Naruto confirmed, wanting Ino to continue.

"Well, she really lost it after you left." It was Ten-Ten who spoke, her eyes looking anywhere but at him. '_I…I don't understand'_ Naruto was so lost, he couldn't begin to explain. He silently begged Ino to tell him just what the hell happened after he left.

"After you left," Ino began, almost as if she'd read his mind, "Sakura was really confused. It was like she didn't know what she wanted. She was so confused, that all her focus was drawn to the one thing she knew she did want."

"To be strong…" Naruto muttered. He was still confused, but at least now the tiniest little bit of light was beginning to make its way into his mind, slowly telling him what was going on.

"Well, that's all she focused on. Being strong. She trained, trained and trained – did you know she's ANBU now? Yeah by that face, I bet you didn't – she worked her ass of, Naruto. She was like a robot. It was like," Ino ran a hand down her long blond ponytail, pushing her bangs out of her face, only to have them fall back exactly where they were before. "It was like the harder she worked, the less she'd think about how confused she was about the way she felt about you, until she was trying so hard she lost track of why she was doing it in the first place."

Naruto stared wide-eyed at Ino's solid, straight face. She wasn't lying. Everything she was telling him was the truth, and Naruto felt the strings on his heart tugging, pulling, and molding a threatening ball of guilt in the pit of his stomach.

When he'd decided to confess to her before leaving to train, he hadn't wanted to trouble her. It was the last thing he wanted to do. The irony of it all was that he wanted to let her know that someone cared, and that Sasuke could go fuck himself – for lack of a better word. But no, he'd ended up doing just the opposite.

Ten-Ten noticed the expression of distress on Naruto's face, and quickly jumped to amend his misconception.

"Hey, Naruto. This isn't your fault, stop thinking that it is."

Naruto jerked out of his morbid state to send a surprised look at Ten-Ten, and then shifted his eyes to Ino, almost as if begging to know if what she said was true. Part of Naruto hoped it was, but the other part, deep down and pushed away, wanted it to be his fault, so that he might actually have a chance at amending it. If his confession hadn't sent Sakura into such a state, then, what had?

"Ten-Ten's right, Uzumaki. We figure you're the only one who could really help her now." Ino whispered dejectedly. It was obvious that she was hurt by the fact that she, Sakura's best friend, could do nothing for her.

"What…what can I do though?" Naruto muttered, clasping his hands, and then quickly pulling them apart. He fidgeted when he got nervous, and right now, he felt like there was a butterfly jutsu going on in his stomach.

"W-we think that y-you're the only reason the S-Sakura we know s-still exists." Hinata began, her pale eyes gazing at him with the utmost confidence.

"Hinata's got a point." Ino confirmed, going from depressed to extremely serious in a matter of seconds. "She told us – on the rare occasion that she's not training, on missions, or working at the hospital – that she really liked you. We tried to talk her out of her insane work schedule, and her unreal desire to save Sasuke, but…but she wouldn't listen!" Ino all but yelled, getting off her stool and pacing around behind him.

"Naruto, you've got to talk some sense into her. I hate Sasuke just as much as she does, and I don't want to take what she wants so much away from her, but God, she's driving us up the wall!" Ino let out a frustrated growl, once again tugging on her hair. "You have to make her take a break, relax, ease off the constant flow of tension she's always got raging through her. Kami-sama, Naruto, if anyone can convince her she doesn't have to do this alone to prove herself to that Uchiha bastard, it's you."

The complete sincerity in Ino's eyes startled him, but as he looked into each individual kunoichi's eyes, he become more and more aware that the message they were trying to convey to him was really important to them. They were genuinely worried about Sakura. Worried that she was working to hard. Scared that she'd become an empty emotionless shell. So what if that's shinobi code? Everyone was worried that she was losing herself.

"We'd figured," Ten-Ten interrupted his revelation, "that she'd return back to the way she was when you came back to Konoha. We imagined that once she saw you, she'd fall madly in love with you, and ta-da, the old Sakura would be back!" Ten-Ten put a thoughtful finger to her chin.

"And then, in say, eight to nine months, there'd be little Uzumaki babies running around. And yet," Ino added, before glaring daggers at Naruto's crimson face. "All you did was talk, am I right? And I bet your oblivious self couldn't see the difference in her. Please, God, tell me she smiled."

Naruto's face was feeling incredibly hot, and he tried to inconspicuously loosen the collar of his sweater as his mind danced around exactly what they'd have to do to result in 'little Uzumaki babies'.

Naruto coughed, "S-she did smile. She showed a lot of different emotions. We talked, yeah…but then…" His voice trailed off as he remembered the feeling of her soft lips against his own, as he reveled in the memory of her running her small feminine hands through his hair, pulling him closer to her.

"You kissed her!" Ino squealed gleefully, and Naruto averted his gaze to stare at the dirt ground. He looked up in time to see Ino and Ten-Ten high-five each other, chanting something about how there was still a chance for her. Upon seeing his confused and bashful stare, Ten-Ten filled him in.

"Sakura's done a lot of nothing with guys. Seriously, she's gorgeous, yet she hasn't dated a single guy, let alone kissed them on the cheek. We all thought that it was because she was waiting for you, but the longer you were gone, the less emotion she showed, and we all just assumed she'd become a zombie. But, look at you, one day and you get the jackpot!" She winked at Naruto, as he felt the familiar feeling of heat creeping up his neck.

Naruto just sat and stared as he watched the kunoichi animatedly discussing the major possibilities that the real Sakura would be back soon, now that he was here. His mind completely stopped following the conversation after they stared discussing all the things they were going to do together with her once Naruto 'fixed' her.

Naruto leaned against the counter, with an uncharacteristic loss of appetite. When he'd seen Sakura for the first time in two years, he'd immediately seen that something was different. Sure, she was much like her old self – which according to Ino was for his eyes only – but that gleam she was attempting to hide in her eyes, could it have been the result of what she'd done to herself over the years?

'_Ino…she said that Sakura-chan was ANBU!'_

His gut clenched at the thought of his Sakura-chan putting herself into the danger that was ANBU missions. As much as ANBU was something that was completely confidential, and no one was really ever supposed to hear about, he knew as well as the next person that ANBU missions were hard, dangerous, and deathly.

He wondered painfully just how close Sakura had come to the 'deathly' part.

'_I have to help her.'_ Naruto confided in himself. _'I have to tell her she isn't alone! That I'm not leaving again, and I'll stay with her, do everything with her!'_

Naruto stood from his perched position near the counter, and walked away, completely forgetting that he was supposed to be in 'plot-mode' with Ino, Ten-Ten, and a partially willing Hinata.

If he had to do this, he had to do it alone.

He was going to go to the hospital, find Sakura, and ask her out for tonight, and if she was too busy, well then the next night. He would keep trying until was able to be alone with her, when he could tell her everything he felt, and try his best to make her see that she didn't have to do all this alone.

With that in mind, he walked back directly to where he never thought he'd go intentionally.

Straight back to the hospital.

* * *

When Naruto had told himself he'd keep trying until he got a hold of Sakura, he never dreamed it would be this difficult.

One week had already passed of him not being able to see her, and he was quickly becoming restless for a multitude of reasons. Two reasons stood out, one of which was less than…well, let's not go there. Many a sleepless night, for varying uncomfortable reasons.

As for the other reason, since Ino and Ten-Ten had told him what Sakura was doing to herself, he worried that every day that passed by was hurting her more. He personally knew what it was like to be completely dead set on something, to want nothing more than to see it happen, and Kami, it hurts when things don't go the way one wants.

As for him, Naruto had his dream of becoming Hokage, the best shinobi in the village. Nothing and nobody was going to get in his way. When he was twelve, he felt the same way. He would do it all alone, because that would be the greatest success, wouldn't it? To have made it to the top unaided?

'_But, if it hadn't been for Iruka-sensei, and then Team 7, I probably never would be where I am today.'_

Naruto had realized, as he grew older, that maybe attempting to reach his goal without any help wouldn't work. He'd always been alone, so it wasn't that much of a change. But, when Iruka-sensei had stood by him and helped him, it somehow dawned on him that he would discover his dream faster if he accepted help and encouragement from others.

He guessed that Sakura hadn't realized it yet, hadn't found out that people would help her get what she wanted. Or maybe, she thought no one would understand.

But Naruto…he understood. Even though he may not get the deeper, underlying emotions to her determination, he distinguished enough of it to realize that Sakura needed to become strong in order for things to get better.

But did she realize that physical strength means nothing without a personified soul?

It was two days and an evening later that Naruto finally managed to steal Sakura away from her occupations.

* * *

"Mou, Naruto. I miss you too, but I have responsibilities." Sakura said for the tenth time as she waited for her ramen. Typical of Naruto that when he finally finds her with some free time, he takes her out on a dinner date to 'Ichiraku'.

Naruto was silent – what's up with that? – so Sakura continued her time obsessed speech.

"I have to be at the hospital at 8:00 to do some filing and that'll take a long time, and then I have to go and check out the documents for the mission statement tomorrow morning, and after that I have to make sure that all the equipment is sterile for –"

"Sakura-chan," Naruto interrupted her, his eyes and facial expression completely unreadable. "Don't you ever take a break?"

Sakura was a little taken aback by his blunt statement, but she felt she had to inform him of something. "Naruto. I'm a busy woman. I'm –" _ANBU, you know._

"ANBU, right? Ino told me. Congratulations." He sounded sincere enough in what he said, and by the gleam in his eyes he was obviously trying to convey that he was impressed with her. But what then, was with the tone of voice?

He continued.

"Sakura-chan, you're ANBU when you're ANBU. And you work at the hospital when you have assigned shifts. Demo, have you realized you work even when you don't have to? Don't you ever take time off to just be…you?"

"I-I…" Sakura was dumbstruck. What was with this mood change in Naruto? She took time off her vital work to spend time with him, seeing as he was so desperate to be with her – and she couldn't deny that since he came back, her mind all but constantly replayed their first kiss – and now he was criticizing her work habits?

Her temper flared.

"Naruto!" She snapped her chopsticks apart, digging them gracelessly into her ramen. "If you must know, I don't have time to be me, because there are things that I have to do! I have responsibilities, unlike you! I have something that I have to do, that's really important to me, and I won't stop until I see it through! Not like you, ne? You can just up and leave for two damn years, and nobody will miss y–"

Sakura froze mid sentence, a cold chill taking over her body as she relived everything that she'd just said. She desperately tried to force back the tears she might cry at her stupidity as she saw the hurt look in his eyes. The pain her words had caused him.

"S-sorry..." She all but whispered in an attempt to hide the choking noise she felt swelling up in her throat.

'_That…was so wrong of me. Who was I to tell him that he doesn't have responsibilities, dreams?'_

'_**I hate to tell you, but you did screw that one up big time. You know Naruto's dream. The whole village does.'**_Inner-Sakura muttered quietly. Sakura's conscience was hurt too with the words she had said. Yelled, no less.

'_He was never shy about saying his dream was to become the Hokage. I knew that. I knew that even as I said those terrible things to him!'_ Sakura clenched her hands, ignoring as her knuckles turned white at her relentless grip. '_His leaving was so that he could become stronger too, in order to achieve his dream! And I…I told him that no one missed him…God, I missed him most of all. Ino… Shikamaru… Kiba… Ten-Ten… Lee… Hinata… hell, even Neji had missed his boisterous presence.'_

Sakura stared up at Naruto's almost expressionless face through her bangs, awed by how hard he was trying to pretend that her words didn't hurt him. She'd said such horrible things. A paramount of disgust settled on her insides at the idea that what she'd just said to him was the equivalent of what Sasuke had said to her. Kami…she couldn't live if Naruto hated her. She wouldn't be able to do it.

"I…I'm so sorry Naruto, I didn't mean that!" She started, trying desperately to make him look at her, but he was looking everywhere but.

"I know you have a dream, to become Hokage, and I'm sure someday soon you will! What I said about…about nobody missing you…that was such a lie. Such a terrible, horrible lie. I missed you most of all." If only he'd give her the slightest reassurance that he was listening.

Sakura opened her heart further than she thought she ever would. Further than she had in many years, in order to tell him just how much she'd missed him.

"When you left…I didn't know what I would do. Everyone here, the rookie nine, all of us, when we found out you'd be gone for so long, everyone was sad! I…I missed you so much! I didn't know what I would do without you! Not so soon after I realized I loved you!" She choked back a sob at his startled gaze. Sakura had realized that her feelings for Naruto were way beyond a simple crush the moment she thought she might've screwed things up for good.

"I-I didn't know what I would do. I didn't know where you were, when you'd be back, other than that you'd be gone for so long! And when you just showed up, I was so scared that you were going to die! I kept saying to myself, 'please don't let him die, please don't let him die' because I'm not sure that I could live."

Sakura hugged herself, almost in an attempt to stop Naruto from seeing right through her. She felt exposed, having never told anyone how she felt before, and now, all of a sudden pouring out all her emotions in such a public place, she felt like all eyes were on her. In reality, the only stares she was receiving was a concerned one from the man at the ramen stand, taking away their bowls, and a shocked, heated stare from the blond teen seated beside her.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered, standing up and offering her his hand. "Come with me."

She looked up at him, confusion evident in her jade orbs.

'_**Is he forgiving us?'**_Inner-Sakura wondered as Sakura tentatively reached her hand up to clasp it with Naruto's.

He placed is hand on the small of her back, walking her briskly through the streets of Konoha till they were, to her surprise, and internal dismay, at the front door to her house.

'_Is this his way of dismissing me?'_

She dejectedly reached her hand up to push open her door, feeling several shades of stupid, when her path was obscured as Naruto assumed the empty space between herself and her home's threshold.

"Sakura-chan, I didn't mean to offend you." Naruto murmured softly, his blue eyes staring intently at her. "I just wanted," he stopped, almost as if to seriously consider his words before speaking, a truly unlike him thing to do. "To let you know that we're worried about you."

Sakura stared bewildered at Naruto's obviously uncomfortable facial expression. _He_ was apologizing to _her_? At this moment in time, try as she might, she couldn't even remember why it was she snapped at him in the first place. All she could think of was that she wanted him to forgive her, and Kami, how he smelt good.

"Were you worried…about me?" Sakura inwardly smacked herself at her stupid reply. Be that as it may, she still wanted to know.

"I still am, Sakura-chan." Naruto started to look really uncomfortable, and seemed like he'd rather be bouncing around somewhere then pouring out his thoughts and feelings. She could relate.

"I know you want to become strong because of something that happened with the teme, and I'm not going to ask what, but onegai, Sakura-chan, please let us – me – help." This time he looked right in her eyes, a difficult task according to Ino, who says looking into her eyes is equivalent to the myth of Medusa. "You don't have to do everything alone."

Naruto smiled that big, stupid-ass grin as he looked down – she remembered when it was up – at her, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

So many different emotions were swirling through Sakura as she stood there, doing nothing but staring at her blond friend come love, as she attempted to process everything that was said.

'_You don't have to do everything alone.'_ Those words were ringing in her ears. She had cut herself off from everybody so as to not have any distractions, because she'd believed that she accomplished more on her own. She was uncomfortable showing her feelings for Naruto because she'd felt that if she got tangled up with him, he'd be a distraction. She threw herself at mission after mission, attempting to do most of it by herself, because that work she did on her own meant the most to her improvement.

Now, as she stared at his clouded over cerulean eyes, she wondered if, perhaps, she had been wrong. Maybe this was what Sasuke had wanted; for her to dig herself so deep into a hole that she could no longer climb out of it. For her to lose herself so completely in the process of trying to find that very thing. In the process trying to tell him she was _strong_. But, now that she took the time to think about it, having to get rid of her old lifestyle in order to accomplish something like strength seemed like the epitome of weakness.

So, Sakura took a step closer to Naruto, pressing herself up against his chest, she wrapped her left arm around his neck, and put her right hand to her door. She pressed her lips desperately against his, giving into the temptation that had been hanging over her since he came back.

Naruto easily got the point, and eagerly wrapped his arms around her small frame, pulling her closer to him, running his left hand up and down her back, kissing her with a fervor he didn't know he had.

Sakura let her left hand slip down from around his neck, and clenched her fist around the open neck of his orange and black jacket. She thrust open her door with her right hand, and pulled Naruto in after her by his collar, closing it behind him.

'_Tonight,' _She told herself, _'I'll do what I want to do, not what I think I have to.'_

* * *

**(AN)**** And that's that! No worries though, Sakura and Naruto have a strong relationship!**

**For those who want to know:**

**Well, I'm off, and I know for the most part this was a bit of a morbid chapter to leave off on, but hey, when I get back, we'll have a very citrusy chapter to look forward too!**

**Many thanks to: jere7782, ****rickp2006****, full-metal-sousuke, ****Kabata4life**_**, **_**Sareon, ****Krymsom****, skytide101, ****narusakufan****, sakurastears, ****Narutomaniac, ****FreetodrinkSR, ****Gnosismaster, ****me, ****holeymoley, ****Radon199, ****DeathRaiderz,**** and ****Grand Admiral Gin**** for reviewing my last chapter!**


	8. Declarations

**(AN)**** Hey, I'm back with my next chapter! YES I know it took a long time because of my vacation, but I'm back and keyboard wielding! I haven't had a chance to read reviews for my last chapter, but I'll hop to it after I post this one. :D**

* * *

At the sound of the soft _click_ as the door closed behind him, Naruto suddenly realized where he was. What he was doing...whom he was doing it with.

And he loved every second of it.

With his back up against the wall, his hands splayed across the back and hip of his favourite pink haired kunoichi, his lips attacking her mouth with the same intensity she pressed upon him.

'_T-this is crazy!'_ Naruto thought frantically as his right hand vigilantly caressed Sakura's waist, '_How did this even happen? Not…that I'm…arguing.'_

Naruto wrapped his arms fully around Sakura, the girl – woman, now – that he'd spent most of his life fantasizing about, and pulled her closer towards him. The sensation of her body pressed up against his as his bigger form enveloped her was amazing, and he fought hard not to let his pleased sigh escape his lips. Sakura was _definitely _helping with that, attentively making it so his mouth was never unoccupied.

'_Ino…she said that Sakura had never been with anyone while I was gone…how'd she learn to kiss like this?'_ His mind fleetingly thought as he moved his mouth more over hers, unable to get enough of his cherry blossom.

He liked that, _his cherry blossom_, even if it was possible he was assuming too much.

Her small, strong, delicate hands slowly slid up his chest, brushing over the hardness of his shoulders, as she pushed his jacket down his arms.

Naruto released his hold on her to push his arms behind him, helping Sakura as the blazer easily fell down his arms to crumple on the floor. The movement of pulling his arms back caused the fabric on his shoulders and chest to strain; the black cloth leaving nothing of his chiseled solidness to the imagination.

Had he been entirely coherent, he'd have made a mental note to buy a bigger sized shirt next time, but Sakura was being an amazing distraction.

Naruto admired her beautiful face, the rosette hair cascading down her shoulders as she traced her fingers down his chest, across his stomach, up his sides. He was lost in the sensation of her hands on him; of her hot breath on his throat as she exhaled, now delving her fingers into his short blond locks.

Unable to keep his mouth _and_ his hands off her for any longer, he leaned down and once again captured her mouth with his, trying to infuse all the wonderful feelings he was experiencing into her, attempting to let her know just how amazing it felt to be with her, to be touched by her, to in turn _touch her._

He raised his arms up to his head as he kissed her delectable lips, and slowly, lovingly, dragged his hands down the soft smoothness of her arms, stopping when he reached her shoulders. Letting his hands fall down her back, he rubbed her, held her, pulled her closer if it were at all possible.

Oh, yes, yes it was possible.

Her hips brushed against his, and they both gasped into each other's mouths at the friction. Tentatively, he felt her rub herself against his erection again, and this time he couldn't help it. He broke away from the kiss to moan at the pleasure.

"Sakura…" He whispered, his lips so close to hers they could be touching. He rested his forehead against hers as they stood there, hanging onto each other, their lower body parts slowly grinding together.

"N-Naruto." She exhaled back so quietly he wouldn't have heard her had he not been so close. It felt so good, what they were doing, and he never wanted to let her go.

Sakura tilted her head back, her eyes glazed over with the same passion filled pleasure he was experiencing. She closed her eyes, her mouth beckoning to be taken once again by his.

It felt so weird, and yet so right at the same time as he once again lowered his mouth swiftly onto hers, kissing her so fully, massaging her bottom lip with his teeth.

Sakura, he was kissing Sakura, the same Sakura he'd dreamed about forever. But no, they weren't _just_ kissing, they were pressed up against each other, hands all over each other, and she was letting it happen.

Kami! He'd only gotten back almost two weeks ago! Had…had she missed him as much as he'd missed her? Had she wanted him as much as he'd wanted her? Had she… it didn't matter. What mattered was the here and now, where Sakura was in his arms, moaning at his touch as his lips ravaged her mouth.

His hands, having found themselves back to her hips, began to make their way up and under her shirt, eagerly splaying over the hot skin of her stomach. Not giving him much time to admire the femininely toned abs, they continued upwards until they cupped the round orbs of her breasts.

Sakura gasped as his hands slowly massaged her, and he took that as an opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. Another gasp was emitted from her as her lips closed around his, trapping his tongue in warm confinement to battle it out with her own. Running his tongue across her palate, teeth, the inside of her lips, her own appendage, he felt it all go down to his groin.

Oh, she was going to beat the shit out of him for all the liberties he was taking, later though, when she wasn't so emotionally off kilter.

Her tongue sprang to life, attacking his with a mixture of intent to win and sweet surrender. She clung to him and –

Aw, holy fuck. _Emotionally off kilter._

It took all the self-restraint a man could have and _then_ some – particularly because of the man in question – to pull his lips away from the fantasy in his arms. The question filled gaze Sakura directed towards him was means to inch a little bit away from the wall, and, for good measure, remove his hands from under her shirt.

He dug his hands into his haphazardly arranged hair, trying to look anywhere but directly into Sakura's gaze. Why? Because the look that she was giving him said everything about what had just happened between them. And why.

Passion and pleasure weren't the only things, he noticed now, that were causing that glossy look in her eyes. No…insecurity, sadness, and the need to get away from something were there, too.

Oh, he didn't have to be a genius to recognize the look of resolution that had risen on Sakura's face mere minutes – '_Kami, how long had it been?'_ – ago, when they'd stood outside her home's door. They had been talking about Sasuke. Her need to become strong. Her obsessiveness over the whole issue. His worries.

And then what? They were just going to shrug it off and go have crazy monkey sex while her mom was out?

Kami, he didn't even _know_ if her mom was out.

He knew that Sakura had thought about it, that much was obvious. And that she had come to some sort of conclusion. But that wasn't what was causing Naruto to keep his hands off of her, to desperately try to wrap his mind around the right words. Something that he sucked way, way too much at when it really mattered.

Add on the fact that he was frantically trying to ignore his hard-on and his inner-mind's urging for him to just forget whatever thought that had swayed his mind, and go back to the wonderful, sexy, pink-haired goddess who was standing there, silently, staring at him with confusion.

He was dense, sure, but he realized what Sakura was doing… even if she hadn't noticed it yet herself. She was running, not hiding, from whatever it was that crossed her mind. She found solace in his arms, and Kami, if that didn't make him want to smile like an idiot.

'_But…DAMNIT!'_ Naruto cursed as he slowly turned to face Sakura again, trying to show her exactly what he was feeling in his eyes. '_I can't – won't – let our first time be an escape from her thoughts!'_

The look on her face as they made eye contact was proof that he was getting through to her. She knew what he was thinking. She also knew that he was right.

He wanted to sleep with her; the jut in the front of his pants didn't make that a secret. And, if her laboured breathing wasn't enough of a clue as Sakura stood there, entirely aware of their circumstance, her hard nipples showing beneath her shirt told him that she wanted him just as much.

Her heart wasn't ready though. They'd done a lot of kissing, but not a lot of talking.

'_Sakura-chan is a need-to-know girl,'_ Naruto told himself, his eyes conversing with hers. _'She needs to feel in love. I-I know she says she loves me… but this isn't how she wants it. She knows that.'_

"_Sakura-chan…'_ His eyes said, all his thoughts, feelings, and considerations for her poured out through those communicated words.

"_I know." _Her emerald eyes said back. She knew this wasn't what she wanted. How she wanted it. She wanted to wait.

As Naruto mustered up the strength to move his feet, he walked over and bent down to pick his crumpled sweater up off the ground, tossing it over his shoulder. Sparing one last fleeting glance in Sakura's direction, he headed out the door.

* * *

Sakura stood in place, watching as Naruto pulled the door closed behind him. She didn't know how long she stayed there, watching the door yet not looking at it at all, until she finally turned and headed up the stairs to her room.

Naruto had thought she didn't want this. _This_ being the heated make-out session and the sex that would've ensued had he not figured out what was happening. And for the most part she had to congratulate him for being right.

But in the end, she _had_ gotten what she'd wanted. She'd had it as soon as he kissed her back, put his hands on her, pulled her close, and whispered her name. He'd made it so obvious that he wanted her. And that was enough.

'_Naruto…surprised me.'_ Sakura mused as she lay down on her bed, her eyes staring at nothing in particular on her familiar bedroom roof.

'_**How so?'**_Inner-Sakura questioned curiously from the back of Sakura's mind, shoved away during the heated moments of bliss downstairs.

'_I hadn't guessed that he would have stopped.' _Sakura answered herself, _'I didn't think he knew me well enough to see that I was running.'_

Running from Sasuke.

Running from what she had become. When she was with Naruto, she was herself. Or so she had thought until things changed. She'd become so scared when Naruto of all people had told her he was worried about her. She'd even changed around him.

And it all had come crashing down on her.

She was just like _him. _She strived for power. She considered people who were important in her life _obstacles_ in her way of becoming strong, - being emotionally attached was not the shinobi way. She became introverted from her peers and her village in favour of strength to be obtained.

She-was-just-like-_him._

Sakura fisted her bed-sheets in her hands as she remembered the cold rush of ice that had totally consumed her as she stood outside her house with Naruto. _Every time_ she thought she was besting Sasuke, it all came back to hit her in the face.

The more she tried to be better than him, the more _like_ him she became.

She had realized something very important then, as Naruto spoke the words, "_You don't have to do everything alone_". He was right. She didn't have to. She _shouldn't_ have to. She wouldn't anymore. Because to do it all alone, to carry everything alone…that's what made her like _him_.

Hadn't she muttered the words, '_this is what make's us different' _to herself so many years ago regarding Sasuke?

Being in Naruto's arms made her _feel_ different. Made her feel like the past few years of her life hadn't been sacrificed to the cause of strength. Having him hold her close told her that he wanted _her_ in whichever way she came; strong or weak, emotional or withheld.

And that's what she wanted to know. That he still wanted her. That he would stand by her, no matter her screw-ups or her life goal. But Sasuke…she didn't want him _for_ those two things. For his bloodlust, for his innate ability to be so self consumed.

Sakura smiled pleasantly; she felt as if it was the most genuine emotion she'd shown since Naruto had returned.

'_**Maybe there's a lot about him that we don't know…'**_Her inner whispered softly, aware of the emotions Sakura was feeling.

'_Maybe,'_ Sakura rolled over on her bed, her eyes gazing out her open window into the evening sky, lit by the glow of the moon and stars. '_But not for long, I hope.'_

* * *

Fuck.

Oh fuck, fuck.

Double fuck.

Naruto wrung his hands nervously by his side as he made his way to the Godaime's office.

Sakura was going to be there.

The same Sakura who he'd walked away from last night, in an attempt to stop them from sleeping together without the right reasons. He had been so cool about it, too. So, '_I know I'm doing the right thing.'_

However, as he'd been walking home, re-living the entire event in his mind, he'd begun to doubt whether he'd been right or had just jumped to conclusions; nervous about things moving too fast.

Shi-i-i-i-t.

An unbelievable amount of one-sided conversation was going on inside the Kyuubi-container's mind as he walked through the big open bay doors.

'_Is she going to be pissed at me?'_

'_Did I go too far?'_

'_Was I even fucking right?'_

'_Does she think I don't want her?'_

'_How could I leave her without knowing for sure?'_

First, and foremost though, due to the task at hand, Naruto's mind was screaming: '_what kind of shit is going on? Tsunade-baachan wants to talk to Sakura and I…_together_, while she's totally sober… _hours_ before_ dawn_?'_

Oh yes, that's right, the biggest of all mysteries. What the _hell_ was so important that Tsunade had to wake them up in the middle of the night to tell them?

Sakura was already seated in a chair across from Tsunade's desk as Naruto approached, desperately trying to square his features and quell his not-a-morning-person temper.

Something he was not particularly good at, considering he was loudmouthed and wore his heart on his sleeve.

"Tsunade-baachan!" Naruto whined as he plopped down into his chair across from the Godaime. "What's this all about?"

Tsunade leveled her steely sober gaze on him, daring him to say something else.

Surprisingly it was Sakura who spoke out next.

"Mou, Tsunade-shishou, I had just fallen asleep!"

Naruto angled his head to look at Sakura as Tsunade's features softened as she looked at her apprentice. A warped sense of worry, adoration and finality were evident on the fifth's face through Naruto's peripherals when Tsunade glanced back down at the documents on her desk.

"Excuse us." Tsunade spoke to the two jounin standing just outside her door, waiting to be her gophers should she need someone to rush to her aide. To do mundane tasks such as, oh, say, chasing down specific shinobi for strange middle of the night meetings?

The two jounins nodded, exiting the hall, pulling Tsunade's door closed behind them.

"I'll get straight to the point," Tsunade began bluntly, lifting the small stack of papers and tapping them against the desk to straighten them out. "We have quickly approached the three year marker of Uchiha Sasuke's defection to the Sound Base, or, vaguely stated, Orochimaru."

Both the remaining members of Team 7 tensed at the mention of the teme and the snake-bastard. But she wasn't finished yet.

"Any day now could mean the end for Sasuke being his own entity, and consequently, the time of peace. If Orochimaru takes over his body, he will pose a great threat to all of us on this planet. There will inevitably be war." Tsunade paused to brush a strand of blond hair behind her ear. "We are sorely out of time, seeing as it has been impossible to locate the Uchiha… until now."

Tsunade secured eye contact with Sakura, and did much the same with Naruto as his turn came around. His breath hitched in his throat.

"There has been reports of Sasuke being spotted off the border of Taki no Kuni, Waterfall Country, within Hi no Kuni, Fire Country."

"What?" Sakura sputtered, jumping up out of her seat, pounding her fist down onto Tsunade's desk. "That can't be so! All these years and he's never so obviously placed himself within our grasp!"

Naruto was glued to his seat, unable to say anything; to participate in the battle of the who-knows-Sasuke's-movements-more that Sakura was attempting to start up with her outburst. All that Naruto could focus on was that after all these years of searching for Sasuke, he was so _close_ to them right now!

"His closeness is what worries me," Tsunade muttered, both as a response to Sakura's statement and the unspoken revelation Naruto was experiencing. "He's heading directly for Oto. Not bothering to navigate his way through the unknown country between the two, he's taking the most direct route there is."

"No! Sasuke would be walking right into the palm of Orochimaru's hand to head there so quickly! He would never give up his body so easily!" Sakura cried out, so many different emotions swimming through her eyes.

"He knows just as well as us that his time is up," Tsunade spoke matter-of-factly, "Contrary to how we see it, he isn't rushing to his demise; Sasuke's thirsting for the opportunity to kill Orochimaru before his plan is ever set into action."

"He won't be able to do it…" Naruto finally spoke up, his eyes finally re-adjusting to the room around him.

Sakura looked anxiously between him and Tsunade as they exchanged looks of agreement.

"Orochimaru doesn't need his hands to do terrible things. Sasuke underestimates him if he thinks he can defeat him on his own. This is where I need you two."

Sakura and Naruto waited in unease for the Godaime to continue. Finally, she spoke the mission.

"As his former teammates, and among the most improved shinobi of this village, I'm sending you two out after Sasuke in a last chance effort to stop this disaster from happening. Find him and capture him – kill him if you have to – and bring him back here before he reaches the Sound Village and becomes another pawn in Orochimaru's sick games."

With that and a warning that they'd be leaving after daybreak, Tsunade dismissed them.

* * *

Sakura walked through the front door of her house, stopping at the closet in the hall to grab a small duffel bag for her mission.

As she padded up the stairs to her bedroom, her mind couldn't wrap around anything but the mission she and Naruto were going to be sent on in just a matter of hours.

'_It's finally time…finally I'm going after Sasuke.' _Sakura thought as she dropped the bag on her bed, tossing only the bare necessities into it.

'_**It doesn't feel the way we thought it would feel, does it?'**_Inner-Sakura offered, remembering how years ago they'd plotted together what they'd say, do, _wear_ when the opportunity arose to go kick some Uchiha ass.

"No," Sakura spoke aloud, "It doesn't."

She was supposed the jump at the chance, shove her fist in the air and declare her awesomeness before racing out into the sunset, a victorious smile plastered onto her face.

Sakura frowned as she dropped to the floor of her room, pulling out the long neglected bottom drawer of her clothing dresser.

As she rummaged through old paper, pictures, and instruction booklets, Sakura realized just how much she'd grown, for good and bad, since that faithful morning nearly four years ago. So many things had changed since then. Now, as the long awaited recon mission for Sasuke finally reared its ugly head, Sakura didn't feel that victorious smile, no… she felt a mixture of worry, excitement, nervousness and determination.

Sakura knew she'd improved, her ANBU certificate on her bedroom wall was a hardcopy set there to always remind her of how far she'd come. Her worry wasn't situated around not being strong enough to survive against Sasuke. Most of it was from her awareness of how much was at stake should she and Naruto fail this mission.

She and Naruto could only do so much in the little time they were presented with. It was a race against time, Tsunade had told them as they were heading out of her office, not a battle of strength or skill.

She had been very point-blank when she stated that the chance of Sakura and Naruto successfully completing their mission was fairly bleak.

This was _it_ though. The gray space between Sakura proving herself to the Uchiha or their entire world becoming devastated by another shinobi war.

So much rode on the outcome of events to come in these next few days, and Sakura prayed they would all be in her favour.

Sakura's frown eased as she finally wrapped her hands around what she'd been looking for. She unfolded the tattered picture, so that the weathered image faced her.

The picture that she'd come so close to tearing apart the day she'd made the vow to herself to become strong.

"I'm strong now, Sasuke. I don't need you to tell me that. I just want you to see it with your own eyes. Not someone else's eyes through you. _Get ready._"

* * *

**(AN)****And the action begins! I apologize that it took me so long to give you this chapter, my vacation was extended :D Nope, no lemons for you yet, though it doesn't take that long to get to know each other… (wink wink, nudge nudge). I'm happy that Sakura has finally realized what she's been doing to herself, because how she's better off than she was before! Be human, my girl!**

**Thank you thank you THANK YOU! To all the wonderful reviewers who reviewed my last chapter while I was away! Gimme a sec so I can go read them so I can list the names…**

**BACK! Alright, huggles go out to: ****darnod, ****Radon199, ****Gnosismaster****, Krymsom, ****Advent Griever, ****templar132, ****Narutomaniac, ****Grand Admiral Gin, ****jere7782, ****rickp2006, ****drag-eart****, Softly Sleeping, ****Yosano Yuki****, narusakufan, ****Useful76****, full-metal-sousuke, ****DeathRaiderz****, Faisalz, ****Redninja44****, suzako, ****FreetodrinkSR****, Dtrek, ****SakuNaruLover****, CrazyKidDeath, ****Shintenshin no Jutsu****, and ****ref346**** for reviewing my last chapter, and hopefully, **_**potentially**_** NOT killing me for my lack of a lemon scene! (Hey, the mom could've been home) **

…**Plus, I have plans for that one :)**

**I hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for the next chapter! Please review!**


	9. Explanations

**(AN)**** Okay, let me start of by apologizing profusely about how extremely super late this chapter is. As we all know, and dislike immensely, school started, and man, was I ever swamped with work. Plus, who adapts to waking up at 6am every morning after waking up at 12pm all summer vacation? (faints from exhaustion) **

**I finally managed to finish this chapter, despite the homework – induced writers block I'd been experiencing. I hope no one can tell where that kicked in… Anyway, I finished it today, thank you, lord – long – weekend – giver. For those who don't know, I have a four-day weekend because it's Thanksgiving up here in Canada! So, without further ado, thank you for waiting so long for this chapter, and enjoy!**

* * *

After so many years of desperately trying to chase down Sasuke, the_ bastard_, they were now freakishly close to him, with freakishly little effort, freakishly nearing the time and place where Orochimaru would freakishly attempt to take over Sasuke's body.

Did anybody else find this freakishly _too easy_?

Naruto's mind whirled as he shoved his last scroll into his travel bag and flung it over his shoulder, making his way out of his apartment.

'_This is just so…_How to dramatically save the World – _For Dummies_', Naruto couldn't help but notice is he walked the early morning streets of Konoha, going over all the mission information. '_Why would Orochimaru put so much effort into making Sasuke stay below the radar just to shove him in our faces right before he gets what he wants?'_

Naruto scrunched his nose in confusion as he turned a corner onto the main street of Konoha that lead out of the village. He felt fidgety, almost, at the prospect of how smoothly things were supposed to work out. Not that he had any problem with dragging Sasuke's half-dead ass back to the village, he'd relish in it, but Kami, _that's_ the issue.

Anybody with a functional brain – which, now that he thought about it, Orochimaru might not have – would know the obvious: Sasuke show, Naruto goes. So what the _fuck _was going on? Were they being underestimated?

Naruto had a sneaking suspicion that Team Naruto-Sakura was being baited out. By Orochimaru, or Sasuke, he had no clue, and for what purpose he was unsure, but what he did know was that the _last_ thing this mission was going to be was easy.

'_This mission makes total sense. Sasuke is on the run to kill Orochimaru, he's taking a short cut to our territory, he thinks we won't be able to handle him if we come, but we can, and we do, and we kick his ass, and then all's good… right? But…' _Naruto scratched the back of his head, the outer walls of the Hidden Leaf coming into full view, _'I feel like the more sense this mission makes, the less flawless it seems to be…'_

Naruto shook his head, trying to get rid of his pessimistic thoughts.

Sakura was already waiting by the gates of Konoha when Naruto finally pulled his shit together, deciding that he would deal with whatever circumstances were handed to him. Even if that meant getting his ass handed to him, as well, by said gorgeous kunoichi. She was leaning against the wall, her arms folded below her chest, staring unseeingly into the distance.

In his complicated thoughts, he'd managed to almost – _almost_ – forget about how unsure he was of Sakura's mood towards him. He had no idea what to expect.

'_And yet,'_ Naruto thought as he got close enough to Sakura to see her facial expression, '_that look she's wearing makes me think she's got the same bad feeling about this as I do…' _

Naruto realized two things in that moment.

One being that Sakura was freely expressing – on her face, for the whole of whoever happened to be around at the time to see – what she was thinking; feeling. The second thing was that she wasn't wearing her ANBU uniform.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it again, not wanting to disturb her thoughts. _'I thought she'd wear it, to show Sasuke how cool she is.'_ Naruto mused, taking in Sakura's form fitting pink zip-up vest and white skirt, her long hair cascading down her shoulders, blowing in the wind.

His eyes glanced at her fists, which were adorned by her black leather gloves. Just this simple item stamped into his head permanently just how strong Sakura was.

_'I pound shinobi with Rasengan, and I barely feel it in my hand…'_

"Naruto."

Naruto's head shot up, his eyes quickly leaving their post of examining her hands. '_Shimata!'_ he cursed, eyes shifting left and right, '_She probably thinks I was looking at her boobs!'_

Suddenly, a thought struck Naruto.

'_Wait…where _are_ her boobs?'_ Naruto stared curiously at her seemingly almost-flat chest, aware that he remembered them being much bigger.

He attempted to shrug it off. Maybe he'd just amplified them in his imagination. Not that he…err…thought of such things.

"Na-ru-to."

He finally succumbed to the beautiful, yet extremely frightening voice, shifting his eyes to stare into her jade orbs that he'd been studiously avoiding making contact with. Her face was home to a multitude of expressions. Fatigue, worry, confusion, determination, aggravation, resolve.

"Y-yes, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked meekly, shifting his satchel further up his shoulder in a nervous need to move some part of his body, unable to predict what that penetrating stare he was receiving meant.

Sakura shook her head, most of her previously viewable emotions disappearing.

"We have to move quickly, we only have a day, – two tops – to intercept Sasuke on his way back to Oto. Now come on, how long are you going to stand there?"

Naruto stared dumbly at Sakura's face for a few moments, before exhaling a relieved, albeit conflicted due to the circumstances, sigh as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Alright, Sakura-chan! Time to catch the teme!" With that, Naruto trust his arm purposefully into the air as he marched out of the gates, out of Konoha, and onwards into a mission with an indefinite outcome.

Sakura smiled fondly at Naruto's back as she slipped her arms through the straps of her bag, following him out into the forest.

* * *

They'd been jumping from tree branch to tree branch, their feet silently bounding off the wood branches for hours before finally taking a small break.

Sakura watched as Naruto slid down against a tree, his demeanor that of someone who was completely focused on the task at hand.

'_He must've finally gotten over being so worried about what happened the other night.'_ Sakura mused as she too assumed a spot beneath a tree adjacent to his, resting her body to prepare for more hours of sprinting.

It had taken an hour for Naruto's back to finally relax, for him to stop casting nervous glances in her direction and to realize that she really wasn't bugged by the whole situation. Sakura laughed inwardly to herself at how completely bewildered Naruto seemed to be by this fact alone.

'_However…'_ Sakura tucked a lock of pink hair behind one ear, '_It didn't take long for his mind to wrap around what's happening…what we have to do.'_

She too had been completely absorbed with this fact after she finally gave herself a chance to realize it was for real. This wasn't just another futile chase against the impossible. This had substance. This had proof. This endless game of cat and mouse, for better of for worse, was going to end within the next sunset.

The atmosphere between herself and Naruto was sullen in a nostalgic sense, surely making it obvious to the other that they were reminiscing of the days of a functional Team 7, and what has now come to pass.

Sakura needed to get her mind off – if only for a moment – their current situation, which surprised her to some extent. After years of waiting for this day, she found herself not wanting to think about it.

"Ne, Naruto, what have you done these past two years?"

Naruto's head perked up at the question, a grin quickly forming on his lips.

"Becoming strong, Sakura-chan!" Was Naruto's predictable reply.

Sakura frowned playfully. "Mou, Naruto! I already know that! I mean, what have _you _been doing? Where have you been?"

"Um…" Naruto stared up at the bright blue sky through the rustling leaves above his head, his blond hair dancing with the small breeze. "Ero-Sennin took me to tons of different countries, so I got to see a lot of really cool things. I learned a lot of new stuff, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura smiled fondly at the boy across from her, aware of how happy he was to finally have a chance to catch up on lost time. "Weren't you lonely?" She had to ask. Traveling for two years with just an old perverted hermit for company didn't really strike the kunoichi as enough to keep one from feeling homesick.

Naruto was silent for a miniscule moment before replying, "Weren't you?"

"What?" Sakura rebutted, "How could I have been lonely? I was at Konoha! Everyone was there."

Naruto smiled sadly, "Just because there are a lot of people around doesn't mean you can't be lonely."

Sakura tilted her head to the side, her long pink hair falling over her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she realized what Naruto was getting at. He was talking about himself, but yet incorporating her as well. Naruto… he'd grown up surrounded by people who should've been his friends, but yet had been so alone, so assimilated. He pulled a ton of pranks to get attention, no matter what the kind. What he was telling her… asking her if she was lonely, it's like he was pointing out that she had segregated herself by choice.

"I, I guess I wasn't lonely because I didn't give myself the time to be." Sakura confessed, running her fingers through the long blades of grass blowing in the wind beside her. She looked up to see Naruto staring pensively at his hands, crossed atop his pulled up knees.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I wonder if this was his way of overcoming his loneliness…" Naruto whispered softly, his eyes glazed over as he turned to face her.

'_Sasuke'_, Sakura thought, _'Naruto's talking about Sasuke.'_ Had the Uchiha left because he was lonely? It seemed like such a ridiculous thought. '_And yet…He had no family, and refused to make any friends.'_ Sakura figured that his loneliness could've been what pushed him to make the decisions that he's made.

"Maybe…" Sakura agreed, standing up and retrieving her bag that she had dropped beside her.

"What about you?"

"Eh?" Sakura questioned, already putting her arms through the straps of her bag.

"What about you? What have you really been doing these past years?" Naruto repeated, that glossy look gone from his eyes.

Sakura had been thinking of how she would answer this question when it came herself, so she responded quickly. "I'd like to say I went on a quest of self-discovery," Sakura laughed, sharing a sheepish smile with her blond…_friend._ "But you and I both know that overall, I didn't manage to accomplish as much of that as I would've liked. I studied, practiced, and trained endlessly." Sakura laughed once more, this one sounding as if it were a way of letting things go from her system. "I know for sure that I'm stronger, and more knowledgeable than I was. But… sometimes I feel as if I'm in the same place mentally I was before you left."

The kunoichi heard Naruto pull himself up off the ground, and leaned into the anticipated touch as he wrapped his strong, firm arms around her, nuzzling his nose into her hair.

"You're not, Sakura-chan. You just haven't given yourself the chance to catch up with you." Naruto whispered into the top of her head.

Sakura clenched the fabric of his shirt, pulling herself closer into his chest. "What if I've become like him?" She whispered almost inaudibly.

Naruto held her tighter. "You'll never be like him, Sakura-chan."

When Sakura lifted her head to stare into his cerulean eyes, she was met with a truly Uzumaki smile: encouraging, comforting, and meant just for her.

"Naruto…" She managed to whisper before her lips were captured by his. It wasn't passionate and frantic as their last ones had been, but sweet, caring, _a promise._ A promise that she'd always be herself, '_Always be your Sakura-chan.'_

They stayed like that, lips pressed lightly together, reveling in the comfort and warmth of each other's arms around them. Naruto finally, with great effort, pulled away.

His arms still firmly holding Sakura to him, he mumbled, "You know…I've been afraid to do that all day since last night. I thought you'd kill me, but I guess it's no big deal."

The tiny – but he would have to be a fool to judge her strength by her size – pink bundle in his arms began to shake.

"Naruto…you-just…RUINED THE MOMENT!"

Naruto wasn't aware of how he managed to get on the other side of the tree, but it would be a lie to say he wasn't perfectly happy with his positioning.

"S-sorry, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, waving his arms in front of himself from the other side of the tree in a futile attempt to calm the kunoichi down.

"Naruto…" Sakura breathed out, her glove clad fist thrust out in the Kyuubi containers direction. "We had a moment, you know? And it could've been perfect…but no, no…" She trailed off, as if unable to find the proper words to describe how aggravated she was.

A heavy silence reigned.

…

…

…

"Ne, Sakura-chan?"

"What?"

"We should probably get going."

"Hmm…yeah, you're right."

* * *

The change from the light of day to the darkness of night was incredibly swift for those immersed in a forest. The remnants of Team 7 found themselves quickly in need of a place to make camp, but not without argument.

"No, Naruto! We have to make camp!"

"But, Sakura-chan! We don't have time to rest the _whole_ night! We need to catch up to him!"

"Oh?" Sakura raised a perfect eyebrow, "And how do you plan to do that when an hour or so from now you're falling over yourself with fatigue?"

Naruto paused to contemplate this.

"Well, I'll deal with that if it happens."

"You mean, _when_ it happens, don't you?"

"Fine, when, but lets get going, Sakura-chan." Naruto all but whined as he stared impatiently in the direction they were to head. They were so _close; _he could practically pick up on Sasuke's scent.

"Look," Sakura started, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and her forefinger, her hip stuck out in a don't-argue-with-me stance, "I want to find Sasuke as soon as possible too, alright? But look, we have to be smart about this, and rest up."

From the look Naruto was giving the pink-haired kunoichi, Sakura was blatantly aware that what she was saying just wasn't clicking. With a large, frustrated gesture, she attempted once more.

"The closer we get to him," She began slowly, making sure to maintain eye contact to ensure his attention, "The more dangerous it becomes. Who's to say that he doesn't know we're already following him? We're at a safe distance now, so resting up now, when we have, oh, say, zero visibility, is the smart thing to do.

"Tomorrow, Naruto, that's when it really begins."

"I…I know." Naruto finally breathed out, dropping down onto the grassy floor.

"So…" He questioned, looking up at Sakura, "Where are we going to camp?"

That was a very good question. Sakura looked around at the wide expanse of grass around them, with large, miscellaneous trees spaced out throughout the clearing. The trees were too far apart to offer sufficient protection to the two of them, and no alcoves or rigid grassy slopes were in sight.

"We'll have to sleep together." Naruto mused as he looked up and down the large tree behind Sakura.

"Excuse me? Naruto, now is _not _the time." Sakura shot back as Naruto's eyes seemed to roam up and down her body. She hoped the night played a proper shield to keep Naruto from seeing the blush that had seeped into her cheeks.

"Eh? What? No!" Naruto waved his hands frantically – he seemed to be doing a lot of this lately – "I don't mean it like that, I mean, sleep in the same tree."

"…oh."

"…yeah…"

"So, I suppose, that tree then?" Sakura offered, pointing her thumb behind her at the tree she assumed Naruto had been err…checking out.

"Yeah, there's a thicker branch higher up that could support us both."

Sakura turned around to stare up into the tree, heavily smothered with large green leaves. She had to focus quite a while near the top of the tree before the wall of leaves allowed her to see just what Naruto had been talking about. Yes, it was big, and yes, it provided enough cover. Naruto had picked up on the fact that with the setting they were in, they would have to stay close.

"Okay then," Sakura stated, walking up to the trunk of the tree. "Let's set up."

'Setting Up' Consisted of tossing their bags along a parallel branch to their own, and attempting to make themselves comfortable. This later part was not as easy as it would seem, despite popular belief that tree branches were the epitome of comfortable to sleep on.

The position they finally settled on was as follows: Naruto had his back leaned up against the tree trunk, with Sakura sitting in between his outstretched legs, her head resting against his chest, and his arms wrapped around her.

After all the re-adjusting and wriggling to get comfortable – which proved to be fairly uncomfortable for Naruto – they just lay still, listening to each other breathe.

"I'm waiting for the realization," Sakura whispered, her head beneath Naruto's chin, "that everything has finally come full circle."

She snuggled in closer; the nights cool air pouring over her body.

"It's just…" Sakura paused for long moment, staring up through the tree branches at the starry sky. "When everything changed a few years ago, I wasn't sure at all what was going to happen. I started studying with Tsunade-shishou, Sasuke defected, and you and Jiraiya-sama left to train for almost two years; it all seemed like everything that had once been was never going to return."

"But now…now, in a broken sense of a way, it's like our whole situation is trying to right itself. Here we are, you back, what's left of team 7 operational, and chasing after our lost teammate to bring him home."

Naruto listened intently as Sakura spoke, tenderly stroking her arm in comfort as she reminisced about the past. She sounded so sad when she spoke, but that was just proof of the sad memories they had left behind, and now, for one reason or another, were forced to look back on.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto had to ask, "Why did you start training under Tsunade-baachan?"

Sakura stiffened a miniscule amount in his arms, before laughing disparagingly. "It all seems like such a stupid reason now…"

"Can you tell me anyway?" Naruto mumbled into Sakura's sweet smelling hair.

"It… it was Sasuke really." Sakura began, but quickly continued as she felt Naruto inhale quickly. "Do you remember that day, it was years ago, when I missed training?"

"Yeah," Naruto responded quickly, "Sasuke said you had been crying, but Kakashi-sensei stopped me from beating it out of the teme what he did." Naruto huffed.

A small smile played on Sakura's lips as she pictured Naruto grabbing the collar of Sasuke's shirt and threatening him.

"Well, I guess it was a stupid thing to cry over, but I really thought I loved him at the time, and he told me I wasn't strong – the weak link of Team 7 – and that I really ought to find a different path in my life. It was the most attention I'd ever gotten from him, and it was to tell me how horrid I was at being a shinobi."

"He said _that_ to you?" Naruto was fuming. The only thing keeping Naruto from launching himself out of that tree and speeding off to destroy that asshole was the beautiful kunoichi he loved in his arms. He attempted to reduce his reaction to vibrating.

"Yeah," Sakura seemed oblivious to what was going on in Naruto's mind, "but I wouldn't give up like he said I should, it just pushed me to try harder, and seek out different training. In a way, I think I should thank him. I feel…I feel so childish, for drowning myself in training. I should've been able to take his criticism."

"Saaaa-kura-chan," Naruto attempted to coo that she wasn't nearly as childish as he was into her ear, but was stopped as he watched Sakura glare off into the distance.

"That doesn't mean I still don't have something I need to prove to him."

"Sakura-chan…"

Sakura laced her fingers through his, and relaxed against Naruto's warm, solid frame.

"Naruto…let's just go to sleep."

And so they did.

* * *

**(****AN)**** And that's that! I hope everyone liked this chapter. I wanted some bonding, and some catching up between the two, and I hope I managed to incorporate it well. Be advised: Next chappy is intro to Sasuke and most likely something else.**

**Thank You, Thank You, Thank You to: ****Kymsom****, maxslayer10, ****Radon199****, Faisalz, ****Shintenshin_no_Jutsu****, rickp2006, ****VyseN****, suzako, ****jere7782****, Useful76, ****SakuNaruLover****, 50-cal, ****Narutomaniac****, Kairiku_Aura, ****DeathRaiderz, ****templar132, ****Softly_Sleeping,**** kabata4life, ****Cielfairy****, Karuteru, ****Starlight –Wild Koneko****, ssjgokillo, ****Jho****, and ****renegate0789**** for reviewing my last chapter! Your reviews mean a lot to me, seriously. **

**I'm sorry once again for taking so long to update, but I hope – and therefore it will most likely be – that the next chapter arrives to you all faster! And, as I know this chapter was mellow, will contain more action! **


	10. Palpitations

**(AN)**** Okay, so I realized that I lied in an absolutely big way when I said that this chapter would most likely come faster than the last one. Uggh, school is presenting a lot of time issues for me, so sorry for the long waits to get the next chapter for this story **** Oh, how I wish I could update once a week again. **

**ANYWAY. Without further ado and questioning, read on and I hope you enjoy!**

**Wow. I wrote that in November. Of 2007. Oh lordy, did I ever go AWOL.**

**Seeing as I haven't updated in nearly a year…a couple things have changed in my writing style, though I don't feel that it is enough to make a drastic change in the flow of this story. While most of the things that may have changed I can't really pick out, I can say that my use of Japanese words interspersed throughout my dialogue is going to be few and far between. My apologies if any of the changes ruin your enjoyment of this story. For those who are reading this now, thank you for waiting, and/or thanks for finding this story when it's been gathering dust for so long!**

**- If you're reading this note and are confused about what Japanese words I'm talking about, that would be because you've visited this story after I went back and edited them out. Enjoy the rest of the story!**

* * *

Sakura could see the bright light signifying the arrival of the sun through her closed lids, causing her to shift sideways, hiding her face in the warmth of the chest behind her in an attempt to shield herself from the unwanted light.

It took a matter of seconds for the sleepy sensation of her body to dissipate and leave in its wake the cold facts of her position.

Suddenly, Sakura found herself more awake and in tune with everything surrounding her than she had ever felt before.

'_Today…it's here. All these years of practice, training, trailing, just everything, and today is what makes or breaks our efforts.'_

'_**We have to be strong!'**_Inner-Sakura's voice rang true throughout the kunoichi's mind, causing the pink-haired shinobi to search her mind for relaxing breathing methods to calm down her system.

Sakura trailed a shaky hand through her pink locks. Willing herself to calm down, she took a steadying breath. She could do this. She was completely prepared for this; she'd trained for years for this very moment. She couldn't back out now, when they were so close she could almost taste it.

The kunoichi lifted her head to gaze at the still sleeping body behind her. Sakura raised a hand to touch Naruto's relaxed face. He looked so at peace when he slept.

"Naruto." Sakura whispered, shifting so that she was kneeling on the tree branch in front of him, in between his legs. The blond made no move to show that he was awake.

"Naruto." She whispered again, gently nudging his body, "Wake up now, we've got to get going." Something clicked in the blonde's mind, his gorgeous blue eyes slowly opening.

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan." Naruto whispered back to her in a low voice, gazing into her eyes as he took his time to fully wake up, something that wasn't usually an option when on a mission.

Sakura held her breath. Just hearing Naruto's voice made all her unwanted nervousness vanish. He had her heart beating rapidly, and just one look from him, just the sound of his voice and her heart caught in her throat. They way he made her feel…just hearing him say her name…

'_It's early' _Sakura tried to convince herself, looking up through the leaf drowned branches at the rays of early morning sunlight, '_and your nerves are all over the place. You're just being hyperaware of everything. You'll be back to normal soon.'_

But soon wasn't soon enough. Sakura was unable to tear her eyes away from Naruto's as he finally fully woke up, as he realized he still had Sakura in his arms.

"I could get use to this." Naruto said softly as he pushed a loose strand of pink hair behind Sakura's ear.

"Get used to what?" She questioned, subconsciously leaning into the palm of his hand.

Naruto smiled at her, showing his fox-like fangs.

"Waking up with you in my arms."

Sakura was speechless; but then again, Naruto didn't give her very much time to respond before he bent his head and closed the distance between their lips.

* * *

Naruto's mind relaxed as Sakura kissed him back, throwing her legs over the side of the branch in order to pull herself closer to his chest. He wasn't able to stop himself from kissing her. Sakura in his arms, her beautiful eyes looking into his, her soft hair begging for his touch. He _needed_ to touch her; otherwise he feared he'd go crazy.

Naruto moaned as Sakura's hands delved into his blond hair, her lips soft and delectable against his.

'_Oh, Gods,'_ Naruto mused as he continued to kiss her slowly, lovingly. When he'd heard her say his name this morning…her voice had pulled him from a dreamless sleep to the real world, where he was sleeping in a tree with Sakura to rest up for the final battle with Sasuke. He'd had a severe case of mixed emotions for all of a few seconds about whether he should jump out of the tree and chase down Sasuke as soon as possible, or kiss the pink beauty kneeling in front of him before his chance disappeared.

Kissing Sakura had won out, even as a strange and slightly disturbing thought crossed his mind. If anything went wrong out there when fighting Sasuke…this could very well be his last chance to kiss Sakura, the woman he loved. He could die or, god, it hurt deep in his chest just thinking of it as a possibility, Sakura could die. To never be able to hold her like this, kiss her like this…those thoughts prompted him to keep holding her and kissing her if only for a little while longer.

He slipped one arm beneath her knees, the other pulling her tighter to him, and she opened her mouth to his searching tongue.

'_Gods'_, Naruto moaned as he slipped his tongue into Sakura's mouth, slowly, languidly re-discovering her mouth and playing with her own tongue. He wished he could stay like this forever, but…

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered as Sakura pulled her lips away from his, breathing deeply, "ah, God." Naruto brushed her hair off her right shoulder and kissed her neck. "I wish we could stay like this…" He breathed into her neck.

"Naruto," Sakura slid her hands down from his hair to the nape of his neck and whispered a breathless plea into his ear, "please…"

Naruto pressed his forehead against hers, holding her tightly to his chest. Gods, he wanted her. But the mission…their mission…it had to be done… and yet, he couldn't stop how he was feeling inside his heart, his mind, his body.

"I know what we have to do," Sakura said as she looked back into Naruto's conflicted blue eyes, "but, if something were to go wrong…I can't…I don't want…" She bit her lip, unable to find the words that she wanted – needed – to say.

But he didn't need to hear the words. Naruto knew what she meant; he was thinking along the same lines. If the worst-case scenario were to happen, and they lost each other…how could they possibly walk into that without being with each other when they had the chance?

"So… would you please-" Sakura started, but was silenced by Naruto's lips pressed tightly to her own.

* * *

Sakura's whole body was experiencing hot and cold flashes as she kissed and touched Naruto like it was the last chance she'd ever get.

'_**Don't think that way!'**_ Inner-Sakura tried to push the kunoichi's very realistic worries from her mind. _**'It's the here and now!'**_

In the here and now, Sakura felt Naruto slip her gloves off her hands and then lift her into his strong arms. In mere seconds, Naruto had her pressed up against the wooden trunk at the base of the tree. She let out a sharp gasp as Naruto braced his knee between her legs and took hold of her waist, pressing them closer.

"Gods, Sakura-chan…" She heard him say before his lips met hers once more, kissing her more strongly and desperately than before. She melted into his arms, holding him just as tightly as she matched him in emotion. She needed this, so much more than she ever thought she could have. She could feel his erection through their clothes, and her body temperature instantly rose.

Naruto pulled back and bent down slightly, catching the zipper on the front of her shirt between his teeth. His blue eyes looked up into hers as he slipped down onto his knees, taking the zipper down along with him. Sakura took in a deep breath and leaned her head back against the tree as her bandaged down chest was exposed to the sensation of the early morning chill and Naruto's heated gaze.

Naruto pressed a hot kiss to one of her battle scars on her stomach, just above her naval.

"How-" The blond was starting to ask before Sakura cut him off with a short, "occupational hazard." Naruto looked up at her once more, before delving his tongue into her naval and kissing and licking across her stomach.

Sakura moaned at his touch, slipping her hands into his short blond hair as she slowly slid down the side of the tree to sit across from him on the grass and reclaim his lips.

She pushed Naruto's sweater off his shoulders and slipped her hands beneath his snug black shirt, marveling at the feeling of his chiseled abs. For such an out-there kind of guy, Naruto sure knew how to keep his assets hidden.

The blond reached down, helping her as she pulled his shirt up and over his head, leaving them both topless and staring. Sakura knew he wanted to simply reach out and pull at the bandages holding her breasts tightly to her chest, but guessed that he realized that if he did, it would take too much time for her to re-wrap herself after. Reluctantly, and to her admiration and slight disappointment, he left the bandage on.

Leaning in closer, Sakura pressed her lips to his chest and kissed, moving slowly up to his shoulders, his throat, and then to his jaw. Naruto tilted his head slightly to capture her lips as he pulled her down into the grass, his hand sliding down her body from her neck to fumble with the clasp of her skirt, and then with the shorts beneath.

When the blond finally managed to undo the clasp, he slipped his fingers beneath the waistband and looked down at her with his gorgeous cerulean eyes.

"Sakura-chan…I don't think I'm going to be able to stop this time," Naruto admitted, his voice hoarse as he placed another soul-stealing kiss upon her lips, plunging his tongue into the recesses of her mouth while his fingers played by her hips.

Sakura's breath caught in her throat. "I don't want you to, Naruto," she managed to breathe out, lifting her hand to cup the side of his face as he slowly began to pull down her shorts, "_I want to be with you."_

Naruto pulled back, slipping her shorts and panties off all the way. Sakura felt heat rush through her as he knelt before her, his eyes roaming up and down her exposed body. She watched him watch her as his hands went to his pants and pulled them down and off. Naruto was neither a boxer or brief guy.

Sakura's breath quickened, and in one swift moment Naruto was back down upon her, pressing their warm aroused bodies together, kissing her deeply and desperately. She wrapped her arms around his strong shoulders, trying to pull him closer to her and raising her hips to meet his.

"Ah! S-Sakura-c-chan…" Naruto gasped out through clenched teeth.

Sakura opened her mouth to tell him that she loved him. To thank him for everything. To say that this moment was one that she was never going to forget. But all that came out was "_please_, Naruto, _please."_

"Unnh_", _the blond let out an almost tortured sounding moan as she continued to press herself against him, "Fast…or slow?" He managed to ask.

Sakura held her breath as she felt his calloused hand take hold of her hip and lift her slightly, his other arm down on the grass beside her head to hold his weight.

"…Fast."

Naruto pressed his lips down hard against hers and muffled her gasp in a hot, passion filled kiss as in one swift motion he buried himself inside her.

'_Ah,' _Sakura's mind filled with a multitude of thoughts and emotions as she lay still in the grass with Naruto staring down at her, waiting. '_He feels…so…amazing.'_

She smiled up at him, aware that he was waiting for some sort of conformation that he could keep going, "I'm okay, Naruto," she said softly, moving her hips and taking him in deeper.

"Gods, Sakura-chan…you're so-" Sakura didn't let him finish what he was saying. She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him with everything she had, biting his lip and pushing her tongue into his mouth as he pulled out and thrust back into her.

Sakura held tightly to him, wrapping her legs around his hips and breathing him in as he kissed her, took her, loved her.

'_I used to imagine what this would be like…with him. This, the real thing, is so much more amazing than I ever thought.'_

Beside her head, Naruto's left arm was starting to shake with the strain of keeping himself from crushing her. Her mind and whole body was hazy with pleasure; she could feel herself getting closer…so close…

"Naruto…I'm…I…" She was so close, so full of the pleasure of having him moving inside of her that she hadn't noticed the absence of his right hand on her hip until she felt it down between her legs, pushing her over the edge.

"Ahhn! Naru!-" Sakura cried out into his mouth as she clung to him, her body shaking with her orgasm. A few more thrusts and Naruto came inside her, moaning into her mouth and holding her tightly.

* * *

Naruto held the small pink bundle in his arms, riding out the last few waves of his orgasm. Gods, he had just slept with Sakura Haruno, the love of his life, and he was feeling amazing.

"Mmm…" Naruto smiled fondly at the green-eyed beauty as she snuggled into his chest, not wanting to move. He could relate.

Naruto nuzzled her ruffled pink hair.

"God Sakura-chan…I love you."

Naruto felt her lips move against his chest in a silent confirmation of the love that they shared, and he wanted nothing more than to stay like this, lying in the grass together, forever.

But he knew he couldn't. What he had thrust to the back of his mind as he'd pulled Sakura out of the tree with him was now raging at high speeds back to the front, nagging at his wishful thinking.

Sasuke. They had to find Sasuke.

Naruto made a move to sit up from the warmth of Sakura's embrace, and his senses were instantly assaulted, a cold as ice and hot as fire chill raking down his spine and through his mind.

Naruto quickly reached his hand back and shook Sakura's shoulder.

"Sakura-chan. Sakura-chan! We need to get dressed. Now."

Sakura sat up quickly, shot him a confused look, but didn't waste any time in gathering her clothes.

_Fuck._ This was bad.

Naruto grabbed his pants and pulled them on. Looking around, he picked up his shirt from around the base of the tree and quickly pulled it over his head.

_Shit!_ Where were their bags?

In the fucking tree.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto turned around to shout for her to get them fast, but she was already up the tree and grabbing them from the branch where they'd placed them last night.

"Catch!" She shouted down to him, and he reached up and grabbed his sac, rummaging through it. He found his weapons case and strapped it to his thigh.

"Naruto," Sakura questioned as she jumped down from the tree, pulling on her gloves and reaching down to strap on her weapon's case, "What's going on?"

He hadn't told her?

_Fuck it. _He was panicking. His adrenaline level was way too high. He needed to calm down.

"Sakura-chan, it's-" Naruto turned to face the kunoichi, but her emerald eyes were staring right past him.

"…Sasuke."

* * *

**(AN)**** And that's the end of this chapter! I'm not too good at chapters like these, but I tried. HUGE SUPER BIG SORRY for the wait time on this one! On top of that, and whoever reads this story is going to kill me, I can't make any promises on the release date for the next chapter. As we all probably know now…my guesstimates have been pretty off. **

**I CAN say that the next chapter is going to be action packed, and it's the one I've been waiting for! I hope nothing was too drastically different in the way I wrote this chapter as compared to my others. **

**Extreme thanks to all those who reviewed my last chapter! Traekor, ****darnod****, ANDREA1114, ****The Dead Prince****, cherryblossom279, ****a fabricated_truth****, templar132, ****jere7782****, Shintenshin no Jutsu, ****growlergrowl****, Starlight – Wild Koneko, ****rickp2006****, Useful76, ****Ryan-Draven57****, kusanagi1345, ****moons requim, ****Jack Shit, and SoundNinja589. Your review notifications in my email inbox were a huge encouragement for me to continue updating this fanfic! THANK YOU!**

**Thanks for reading Stand Alone and I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter! Please review if you can, I love the feedback!**


	11. Confrontations

**(AN) I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! I have NO excuse for 3 years of neglecting this story. I can't even remember why I stopped writing it in the first place. A couple weeks ago I got a notification in my email saying someone had favourited this story, and I was like, "holy crap, they found it in all the dust of not being updated in 3 years? That's faith, following an unfinished, hasn't-been-updated-in-3-years story." **

**Thank you to all those who read my story before and continue to read it now – I'm back and ready to finish this up!**

* * *

"...Sasuke."

Sakura was frozen in place, her eyes focused on the dark form on the other side of the clearing. _'It couldn't be him...it shouldn't be, but it is.'_

Naruto was staring at her, staring at Sasuke, and it was like all time had stopped. Sasuke was supposed to be hours ahead of them... had he really sensed them and doubled back?

'_But why? Why would he do that?'_

"Ah, so it's the two of you, then." Sasuke said with a bored tone, shifting his weight to his other foot. "I should have known."

He looked older, colder, and far more calculating. But still... he looked like Sasuke Uchiha.

His clothes were loose, his white shirt exposing his chest and billowing in the breeze as leaves danced around them. He was carrying a long straight edged sword, strapped to him by the rope around his waist.

In the presence of the man she had spent years hating and yet preparing to save, she had the most asinine thought that the setting amidst the lush forestry was far too beautiful for the dark task that was fast approaching them.

**'**_**Come on, Sakura! Say something! DO something!' **_her inner was shouting, but still she found herself dumbfounded, glued to her spot beneath the large tree she and Naruto had been in less than an hour earlier.

This wasn't how she pictured their reunion with Sasuke would be. _They_ were supposed to find _him._ They would have the element of surprise and be mentally prepared for the encounter. When she was 14 she'd dreamed of stopping him, challenging him, knocking him unconscious and dragging his conceited butt all the way back to Konoha.

But now, in the moment, she was surprised and unprepared.

She could sense the chakra coursing through her old teammate, and for all the boredom he was playing up, he himself was prepared for a fight, his energy pumping through him.

"Couldn't Konoha spare some real shinobi to chase me?" Sasuke mused, a hint of a smirk on his otherwise expressionless face.

"Sasuke-_teme_!" Naruto growled out between clenched teeth as he fisted his hands and shifted into a fighting stance, prepared to move at a moment's notice.

"Still cowering in the background, Sakura?" Sasuke turned his attention to her, "ke, still so useless."

The pink haired kunoichi gasped, her jade eyes widening as memories flooded her.

"_Your fighting is sloppy."_

_"You're never paying attention."_

_"You're holding the team back."_

_"...I have to keep saving you from your stupidity."_

_"You're not shinobi material."_

_**"You're weak, Sakura."**_

A calm, collected coolness washed over her and she narrowed her gaze, taking a step forward towards the Uchiha.

Not anymore. She wasn't weak anymore. She'd trained for this, prepared for this, and she absolutely refused to choke in the moment any longer.

"Drop the act, Sasuke-_kun_," Sakura commanded, steeling her voice as she approached Naruto's side, "drop all of it and come back to Konoha."

"Or you'll what?" Sasuke smirked, speaking slowly, lazily, and placing a hand on the hilt of his sword, "Cry?"

Sakura felt Naruto bristle at the gesture.

Sakura could tell that Naruto was getting close to pouncing, and she marvelled at the speed with which the blond fell back into his old pattern with their old friend. Sasuke would insult her, and Naruto would jump to defend her honour.

But Sakura needed no one to defend her. She refused to take the bait she had so easily succumbed to years ago.

"We'll bring you back by force, Sasuke." Sakura spoke strongly, definitively, not with the voice of the girl that pestered the quiet, darkly handsome boy on the red bridge before training. She brought her slow paced walking to a stop as she fell in line with Naruto.

"What are you thinking, Sasuke? It's been three years. You know exactly what will become of you as soon as you get close to Orochimaru." Sakura focused on keeping her tone even and her body steady, even as she felt the adrenaline pump through her. There was no way, absolutely no way Sasuke was going to look between her and Naruto, shrug and concede defeat.

They would have to fight, and someone would have to lose.

_'Sasuke... you're too caught up in yourself. Do you honestly believe you can take on that sannin alone?'_

"Hn. You don't know anything." Sasuke blandly stated, looking to the world as if he wasn't even the slightest bit perturbed by the obvious impending confrontation between himself and his old team. And perhaps, in reality, he really wasn't.

"And you know _shit all_," Naruto barked, throwing his right arm out to the side in exasperation, "if you honestly think you can run into some hideout and what? Fuck up Orochimaru? Kill him and stop him from taking over your _body_?" The blond chuckled quietly, mirthlessly at the blank expression on Sasuke's face that revealed nothing. "That's your plan, ain't it? It won't work teme. You can't do that on your own."

"So what?" Sasuke asked, looking ever more prepared to end the idle conversation and return to his journey. He must have done what he intended by turning around and finding out who was following him. Now that he knew, Sakura guessed correctly, his next step would be to eliminate the trackers and move on. The trackers being his old teammates, she could see, meant nothing to him but wasted time in chatter. "You've come to offer your help? I don't need it _dobe_, you're almost as useless as her."

Naruto snarled, but Sakura took another step forward and raised her voice.

"It's not as if you'd accept any help from us," Sakura spoke, as if the very thought was laughable. If he'd ever wanted help, he would've gone to Kakashi-sensei, _Naruto_ even instead of running off to Orochimaru. No, she well understood that he worked alone, as did Tsunade who gave the mission order. "Our mission isn't to help you, Sasuke. It's to stop you, using any force necessary. This is foolishness!" Sakura dug her heels into the ground, anticipating what was to come.

"There's no way," Naruto added, pulling his fist in front of him, "absolutely _no way_ we're going to let you get to that hideout. Can't you see you've been manipulated into thinking you can take that snake bastard down? You think you're so fucking smart, Sasuke, but you haven't got a clue!"

"We'll kill you if we have to." Sakura spoke in a quiet, strong whisper. She would rescue him and prove to him just how strong she had become. Even if the only rescuing she had left to offer was killing him before Orochimaru could.

"I'd like to see you try."

In a split second Naruto had launched himself from his position beside her and was barrelling towards Sasuke at full speed. His hands moved at lightning speed as he formed the Kage Bunshin jutsu, creating ten shadows of himself to close in around Sasuke with him.

Sakura watched as Sasuke smirked, unsheathed his sword and launched himself into the air to meet the oncoming clones.

Not willing to waste any more time watching the old rivals start their fight, Sakura ran towards the fray, prepared to fight this battle and make her stand.

Sasuke easily dispatched the shadows and dodged the real Naruto in seconds, landing back on to the ground with an almost soundless grace. Whipping around, his eyes widened only a fraction as Sakura pounded her fist into the ground, sending a huge shockwave and rushing crater towards Sasuke. The Uchiha jumped back into the air to avoid being enveloped by the shattering rocks beneath him and pulled his sword sheath in front of him to deflect the barrage of kunai Naruto had sent speeding towards him.

Landing on a tree branch, Sasuke glanced down at Sakura as she knelt at the beginning of her crater and pulled her fist from the ground, staring defiantly right back at him.

"So you're not weak," he smirked, "you're just a Neanderthal."

"Raah!" Naruto announced his angry presence as he landed on the tree branch beside Sasuke and threw a punch for his gut. Sakura watched as Sasuke caught the blonde's fist and used the momentum of the thrust to throw the teen from the tree. Naruto popped into a puff of smoke and a small tree trunk fell the fifteen feet to the ground.

"Still with these old tricks –" Sasuke began before he was cut off by the whirl of a cyclone of shuriken bearing down on him from above. Not batting an eyelash at the obscurity of the jutsu, Sasuke sprinted down his branch towards the trunk of the tree, appearing to Sakura as if his plan was to drive the shuriken into tearing up the tree instead of himself.

But he ran straight into her next move.

Focusing her chakra into her feet, Sakura was already halfway up the trunk and still closer as Sasuke made it to the start of the huge branch he stood on. His attention was focused on the whirling blades as they followed his movements.

_'Creative technique, Naruto,' _Sakura commended as she made it to just above Sasuke's branch, _'But I have plans for the shinobi who underestimates his opponents.'_

It seemed as if Sasuke noticed Sakura's absence from her crater but not fast enough as she quickly released her chakra from holding her feet to the tree and roundhouse kicked Sasuke in the side, sending him tumbling down through the branches of the adjacent trees.

She could have punched him, but as satisfying as that would have been, she probably could have killed him with the sheer strength she had coursing through her hands with her adrenaline. They were still at a stage where they could bring him in; they didn't need to seriously consider killing him just yet. And even if they needed to seriously consider it... despite her years of hating him for his cruel words, he was still an old teammate, still someone she wasn't yet sure she _could_ kill while other options existed.

Sakura gripped the branch Sasuke had once been standing on and flipped over and down it to land on the ground below.

"Sasuuuuke!" Naruto was already on his way to intercept the other teen as Sasuke sprung out of the forest debris, looking pretty good for a man who'd broken several tree trunks on his way down.

Sakura sprinted to a better location to prepare for her next attack as she watched Naruto and Sasuke battle it out, weapons drawn. As much as she wanted to get in on that, she knew there was no way she could slip into that battle unscathed. The best thing she could do right now for their mission was _think_.

'_**We're never going to have another chance like the one we just used'**_ Inner-Sakura reminded her, _**'He's not going to underestimate us like that again.'**_

That was both a rewarding thought and a curse. Things were going to start getting dangerous.

* * *

Naruto ducked beneath the swing of Sasuke's blade and rolled off to the side, pulling a kunai from his weapons case as he flipped back onto his feet.

_'Kami, Sakura-chan really _has _acquired Tsunade-baachan's brute strength' _Naruto revelled as he used the Kunai to deflect several shuriken flying his way. _'She's on her game and I need to be, too. I won't let this battle go down the same as last time with that Akatsuki! I won't fail again!'_

"Come back to Konoha with us Sasuke!" Naruto called out as he slashed through a shadow of his former friend whom he had loved like a brother, "we don't have to fight like this!"

Sasuke suddenly appeared behind the Kyuubi container and knocked him off his feet with a swipe of his sheath. Naruto didn't stay down for long, jumping back up and assuming a defensive stance.

"You call this fighting, _dobe?_" Sasuke questioned, his breathing even and not laboured in the slightest. The only sign that the remaining two members of Team Seven were putting up a fight were the rips and tears in the bastard's clothing and the blood dripping from the edge of his mouth. Sasuke swiped the blood away with the back of his hand. "This is a _joke_. I'm going to kill you two, and then I'm going to –"

"Bull_shit_, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, forming the jutsu for his cyclone of shuriken once more. Sakura's epic roundhouse kick had thwarted his first strategy to use it, but he had more chances and more tricks. "You wouldn't do that!"

Naruto refused to believe that Sasuke would coldly, flat out declare his intent to murder his friends and follow through with it. Yeah, they were fighting, and yeah, Sakura had said that they were prepared to kill him if they had to, but they were going to avoid doing that as best they could. But Sasuke... he said it as if they were just two more bodies getting in his way.

"Yeah, I would." Sasuke growled out, frustration seeping through his voice as he took note of the familiar whirl of the shuriken cyclone bearing down upon him. "I wouldn't have to if you weren't so annoyingly persistent!"

Sasuke didn't lose any time noticing that the only way out of the descended whirl was up and he launched himself out, completely prepared for the blades to begin their chase of him. Naruto smirked as he clapped his hands and the blades enlarged and spun faster. The threatening speed with which they flew was only that, a threat, and Naruto knew he only had a small window of a few seconds to get into place.

Forming his next jutsu with rapid hand motions, Naruto created three clones of himself to help intercept Sasuke's return to the ground. Sasuke had stopped fleeing the blades and had turned around as he fell, deflecting the sharp metal expertly as they closed in on him. Once Sasuke had neutralized the threat, he turned in the air to shift into a comfortable landing position.

Naruto was prepared for this, and as soon as the Uchiha hit the ground, the Narutos rushed him from all sides, the real Naruto moving in from the front.

"Give it up, dobe," Sasuke commanded as he drew his sword from his sheath once more and spun, dispatching the shadows as they recklessly flew at him.

The shadow bombs went off with a crash, leaving the two teens shrouded in clouds of smoke as the small blaze roared around Sasuke, the flames nipping at him and keeping him from safely dodging anything Naruto threw at him. The only way out was through the Jinchuuriki.

"You're coming home with us, Sasuke." Naruto stood at the head of his fire trap, his figure looking clouded and rustic amidst the smoke and embers flying in the breeze.

"You know what, Naruto?" Sasuke's hands moved with a speed Naruto had never seen before, "you're still so fucking annoying."

* * *

"Denki Kēji no Jutsu!"

Sakura snapped from her thoughts and halted her focus of her chakra into her fingertips at the sound of Sasuke's shouting voice calling out a jutsu she had never heard of before. The pink haired kunoichi watched in shock as large spikes of chakra erupted from Sasuke, putting out the fire and roaring into the ground around Naruto, crackling with electricity as they pushed up from the ground around him and formed into a cage with the blond on the inside.

"Naruto!" Sakura heard herself call out in panic as Naruto stepped back into the wall of crackling energy and shouted out in pain, falling to his knees on the dirt beneath him.

_**'That's a dangerous amount of chakra Sasuke released to make that cage!"**_ Inner-Sakura said with worried amazement, _**'That's **_**got**_** to be a tough move!'**_

_'A last resort, maybe?'_ Sakura thought as she ran towards the crackling cage holding Naruto hostage and Sasuke's smirking form, _'It looked like he was taking a beating from Naruto.'_

_**'Well, he was,' **_her inner conceded, _**'But not anymore. He's got the upper hand now and we don't know how badly that hurt Naruto!'**_

The only thing Sakura knew was that it _must've_ hurt. That much chakra focused and used as a weapon? Sakura watched nervously as Naruto braced his hands on the ground and wobbled to his feet, careful this time of touching the walls of his prison.

"I don't have any more time to waste on you." Sakura heard Sasuke hiss at Naruto before pushing off the ground and back up into the trees.

_**'Oh no... What do we do?'**_ Inner-Sakura panicked, realizing a decision needed to be made.

Sakura hesitated a moment as she skidded to a stop some feet from the electrical cage. Should she work at freeing Naruto from the crackling death trap or should she leave him behind and go after Sasuke? Either way, she no longer had any time left to plan. What she'd prepared already in the time the two boys fought would have to be enough. It _had_ to be. Plan B was something she hadn't wanted to consider, but as it was... she needed to be prepared.

_'The mission is to stop Sasuke... I can't lose him here and let him get to Orochimaru!'_ Sakura battled within herself, _'but Naruto...there's not enough room to sit down in there. As soon as he gets tired...'_Sakura didn't like the thought as it entered her mind.

The very image of her energetic blond lover being forced to encounter the painful chakra walls of his prison once again...an uncomfortable shudder began to work its way up her spine at the idea of such pain coming to the man who had saved her from her own.

"I'll be okay, Sakura-chan," Naruto said confidently as if he knew her thoughts were running out of control, only a slight trace of strain evident in his voice, "go after the teme!"

At the sound of Naruto's voice, Sakura escaped the mental images of her love and best friend in pain and was brought back to the real world where Naruto was still trapped but smiling his goofy reassuring smile as he hunched slightly, looking through the chakra trap at her with his beautiful blue eyes.

Back to the real world where every second counted, and with every second she hesitated Sasuke got further and further away and closer and closer to Orochimaru.

Still, Sakura chanced another second, her concern for Naruto, the man who had returned and saved her from the grimness of the life she'd chosen to lead, trumping her mission.

_'What if the Akatsuki come while I'm gone chasing down Sasuke!'_ another horrifying thought sprung to the forefront, _'He'll be trapped here practically like a gift basket!'_

"Naruto," she began, even as she prepared to jump into the trees and go after their former teammate alone, having already anticipated the blonde's response to her concerns. Should she tell him she loved him? That would sound far too final. Naruto would be okay – and so would she. She could fight Sasuke alone – as it was, it had been her goal for years now, to fight that man one on one. And so Sakura said what she could with a final glance at her caged friend, "be careful."

"I'll find a way out, Sakura-chan!" Sakura heard Naruto shout reassuringly to her as she landed on a firm branch above the cage and braced herself to push off.

As Sakura focused her jade eyes on the forest ahead of her and ran after Sasuke, she tried her best to ignore the sound of the crackling chakra snap, signalling that Naruto's body had once again collided with his dangerous electric constraints.

* * *

Sakura dashed through the trees, straining her ears for any sounds that would reveal the missing-nin's location. She had been sprinting full force after the Uchiha for several minutes straight, perhaps ten, and still had not encountered him again.

_**'We can't have lost him!'**_ her inner cheered for her not to give up, _**'We didn't stay with Naruto long enough for him to get too much further ahead. He's fast-but so are we!'**_

No, she hadn't lost him yet. She had, however, taken note of several exploding tags hanging from the branches that a lesser shinobi would have missed.

She tried not to take the traps personally – and failed. Still, the Konoha medic-nin was well aware that being underestimated was an asset and refused to let her temper boil up. What was she going to do? Catch up with Sasuke and chew him out for only half-heartedly trying to kill her? No, after what she'd seen of the battle between Sasuke and Naruto, she believed the Sharingan wielder wouldn't half-heartedly do anything. He was just trying to kill 12-year old Sakura Haruno.

Sakura pushed off yet another branch with even more force, propelling herself even faster through the forestry. Even still, Sasuke underestimated her growth over the years. Suddenly, a sound permeated through the foliage, catching the pink-haired kunoichi's attention.

Was that... rushing water?

_'Yes, it is!'_ Sakura felt the tables turn in her favour as she took a moment to assess her location. She was familiar with this part of the country from past ANBU missions – if the river was close, she knew she and most likely Sasuke as well were rapidly approaching a large drop-off that surrounded the river. The only way to safely pass the watery canyon and reach the country on the other side was to cross the bridge.

Sakura smirked and shifted her route due west, running even faster through the tree tops. She would reach the bridge before him and wait, banking on her hopes that Sasuke knew this part of the countryside less well than she did.

Judging by the lack of exploding tags hanging inconspicuously from the branches ahead of her as she ran, adrenaline once again coursing through her veins, she suspected her assumptions were correct.

After several more minutes of running, the large bridge suspended between two grassy cliffs, their sides crumbled and eroded from centuries of harsh weather and the rushing river below came into view.

Sakura stopped on a branch near the edge of the tree line and leaned into the trunk, cloaking herself amidst the dark shadows cast from the leaves on the tree. She would sense his chakra signature approaching and then she would make her stand – alone.

_'Naruto_..._' _Sakura's thoughts drifted to her blond best friend, teammate, and most recently lover as she stood in wait. _'Don't do anything reckless with that cage. If you hurt yourself... I'm too far away to heal you. I can't bear the thought of finally capturing Sasuke but losing you to his jutsu...'_

She thought of the way his hands had felt on her as he'd caressed her body as they hastily made love, her fear of the end results of this mission having consumed her and pushed her over the edge. She absolutely _had_ to experience being with him before anything irreversible happened – she had been so blissfully unaware of how rapidly that very situation was approaching her.

Never had she imagined that Sasuke would come to _them_. If he had been even minutes sooner... Team Seven's reunion would have been significantly different. It was foolish of her, Sakura's ANBU side admonished her – the side that had fought hard and long and worked late through the nights in the years her comrades had been gone – for desiring Naruto when she had woken.

Doing that on a _mission?_ Still, Sakura shook her head as she leaned even further back into the cover of the leaves. She wouldn't have given up that moment for the world. And if they finished this mission – _when_ they finished it – she would absolutely make sure she would have another chance to do it right. To wrap her cheerful blond love in her arms – the man whom she loved so desperately and clung to the memories of in the years he'd left her to go train, the man who told her she didn't have to fight alone – and she would show him how much she loved him.

A small smile graced Sakura's face. _'As if Naruto would argue with that.'_

* * *

**(AN) I know. I'm still an ass for not updating for 3 years. I'm also a jerk for leaving this story on such a cliff-hanger! I tried my best not to do so with this chapter. I promise this story will be finished! I have inspiration coursing through me!**

**Next chapter: Sakura faces off against Sasuke one-on-one. Who will come away the victor? Will Naruto escape from the cage or will Sakura have to go back and find a way to free him? Let's find out next week! (and I do mean next week – evil dancer-me isn't going to make you wait another few years, or even a month!)**

**I have maybe 2 more chapters left of this story, and then perhaps an epilogue. I figure, since I've proven I'm bad with updating, that this story will not have a sequel. I'm going to be sticking to one-shots for awhile!**

**Thank you, THANK YOU, **_**Thank You**_** to all of my reviewers from over the past few years – your reviews have kept this story on my mind! And so I give many thanks to: ****ssjgokillo****,twin083,****Jack_Shit****, Anon, ****Cupcake-sama****, coolgfunny, ****Serika2001****, I.E.T.S., ****ComboBreaker****, BlackBaccaraRose, ****jgsparks,**** Gravenimage, ****rasenganmaster777****, NorthernLights25, ****XDarkFlameX****, Carcas,****bugzadc****, TheBathman, and ****Happybird16**

**As for Denki Kēji no Jutsu - I used Google translate to go from "Electric Cage" in English to Japanese.**

**Please leave a review if you can spare the time! =)**

**~dancer-me**


	12. Frustrations

**(AN) Chapter 12 is here! *Excitement for having updated like was promised* I am also REALLY happy with this chapter. I think it may be my new favourite =D Aaand possibly long enough to have been two chapters =P**

**OH YEAH, sorry to make this so long, but heads up: I reread my story so I could get back in the groove of things and I discovered some things I did with my writing that irk me now, ergo I intend to go back through it and do some editing. I apologize in advance if that ends up sending you all like... 8 story alerts in the span of a day. I don't really know how it'll work... Anyway, Enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura watched from behind her cloak of leaves rustling in the cool mid-morning breeze. She masked her chakra signature, having learned from her earlier encounter with Sasuke that while he may not be able to tell who the signature belonged to, he could tell that someone was _there_. Or perhaps, she wondered if it was only because it had been too long since he had last been with them that made him not recognize them.

Unlike Sakura and Naruto, who had stamped Sasuke's chakra signature forever into their memory – the onyx haired Uchiha hadn't seemed to care.

It was one of the many things that were different now from how they once had been. They used to work together as a team, recognizing the presence of and fighting alongside each other.

Now two of their precious team were made to fight against the third.

Sakura felt herself missing the warm summer days in Konoha years ago when her only concern was wondering when Sasuke and Naruto were going to start fighting again. The days she had thought she would never look back on fondly ever again since she had made herself hate Sasuke.

'_The fighting had been with just words back then,'_ Sakura remembered as she leaned her head back against the rough bark of the tree, _'and I had always thought words were okay; they couldn't really hurt each other with words.' _

'_But I let Sasuke's words hurt me more than anything ever had.' _Sakura fought the urge to slam her eyes shut in frustration; she needed to be alert. _'No wonder I needed to become stronger!'_

Sasuke's words wouldn't hurt her anymore. She wasn't weak anymore. She _was_ stronger.

'_**But it isn't words we're fighting with anymore.**_**'** Inner-Sakura whispered within her.

No, these days the fighting was so much more dangerous. As Sakura's chance to go up against Sasuke, one-on-one, inched closer to her with every second Sasuke came closer to the bridge, the reality of the situation became more and more stark.

He would fight her to the death in order to achieve his goals. And she was not prepared to die – at least not until she proved to him how much stronger she had become since that day she ran from his words.

Sakura's eyes shot east as she heard a rustle of leaves that wasn't in time with the steady flow of the wind. Sakura wrapped her right hand around a kunai hidden beside her and focused her attention.

Her palms began to sweat as the small chakra spike following the further rustling of the foliage confirmed that someone was coming out of the forest and heading towards the bridge. The chakra was well masked, but Sakura had trained extensively to be able to pick up such covert tactics.

_Sasuke_.

'_This is it.'_

As Sasuke erupted from the tree line, Sakura quickly attached an exploding tag to her kunai and threw the weapon forcefully into the ground, causing the Uchiha to skid to a stop mere inches from where the exploding weapon had penetrated the dirt.

Jumping down from her hideout amidst the leaves, Sakura used the distraction of the small explosion to quickly dash out from amongst the trees and position herself between her former teammate and the bridge.

"Sasuke," Sakura called out, with all the cool indifference she could muster. She would _not_ reveal to him her thoughts or her apprehensiveness about the upcoming battle.

She would not let him play off of her concern for Naruto, who remained still too far away, trapped in a crackling cage of electrified chakra.

She watched as his dark eyes met hers from across the dusty clearing, the explosion having knocked him back several feet and stirred up clouds of dirt.

"Get out of my way." He said coldly, mild irritation evident in his tone.

"No."

Sakura could feel the frustration rolling off of him. Never having been one to openly express his emotions, Sakura could tell that his patience was quickly evaporating.

"I've told you before – I can't let you go back to Orochimaru!" Sakura shifted into her taijutsu stance, her feet securely planted on the ground with her arms up and ready in front of her.

"Hn." Sasuke barely moved a muscle as he stared back at her, but she could see that in reality he was looking straight through her, towards the bridge. The bridge that brought him closer to the corrupt sannin – the bridge she knew he fully intended to cross.

The only thing standing in the Uchiha prodigy's way was Konoha's _weakest little kunoichi_. It seemed ironic, almost, that this confrontation should occur by a bridge.

"You told me I was weak," Sakura stated in a powerful tone, speaking just barely loud enough for him to hear her across the clearing, "and I ran away from you that day, Sasuke. I'm not running this time."

And just to drive the point home, Sakura hauled back and slammed her fist into the ground.

Sasuke snapped into motion, jumping into the air to avoid being swallowed by the gaping hole left in the earth from the exploding chunks of rock and dirt erupting from the ground. Pushing off from a large chunk of rocky debris mid-air, Sasuke launched himself towards Sakura, three shuriken already being released from between his fingers and flying directly at her.

Sakura quickly dodged the thrown weapons, skidding to the right and throwing back her elbow to connect harshly with the Sasuke clone she had sensed moving in behind her. The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Scanning the area swiftly with her bright jade eyes, Sakura flipped a kunai up out of her weapons case and threw it with deadly accuracy towards the kunai flying towards her, kicking off from the ground and changing position as the two weapons met head-on and clattered to the grassy ground below.

'_Where is he?'_ Sakura spun around on her heel as her feet connected with the ground once more. Her eyes widened as Sasuke appeared before her and slashed at her with a kunai, giving her just barely enough time to dodge the blade.

Dropping to the ground, Sakura braced her palms against the dirt and shot her right leg up, sending the sharp weapon flying from her now Sharingan wielding opponent's grip.

Kick. Punch. Jab. Block. Dodge. Kick. Duck. Punch. Kick. Kick. Punch. Jab.

No matter what move Sakura made, Sasuke predicted it and stopped her from connecting her powerful limbs with his body. He moved with a menacing speed, his body always moving just in time to avoid her attacks.

Flipping backwards to avoid Sasuke's calf kick, Sakura pulled a small smoke bomb from her weapons case and threw it to the ground in front of Sasuke as she regained her footing and began forming a jutsu she had picked up during her ANBU training. The smoke wouldn't do much, but it would give her the precious second she needed to form her hand signs.

Sakura finished her jutsu just as a shuriken spun out of the smoke and into view. Sakura dodged to the right, but knew she had sacrificed her opportunity to escape unscathed when she'd chosen to finish her move as the whirling blade slit open the side of her left shoulder. Sakura felt the warm blood trail down her arm and begin to soak into her elbow pad.

Not wasting any time or chakra on healing the wound, Sakura watched her jutsu unfold even as she contemplated her next move.

The blades of grass floating in the air, torn loose from the ground below during their battle stiffened and sharpened, freezing for only a fraction of a second before flying straight at Sasuke like many sharp, unavoidable needles. The grass underneath him and in the surrounding area similarly tore loose from the ground and flew with speed and precision towards Sasuke.

Sasuke demonstrated his incredible speed as he deflected as many of the grass needles as he could, but even still there were too many, moving too fast, for him to block them all. The grass needles embedded themselves within his arms, legs, shoulders, chest, and back as pointy, painful nuisances, but not powerful, long, or many enough to do any lasting damage.

Sakura had known she would have to face Sasuke's Sharingan when she had dreamed of fighting him, but the idea of battling him with it was so much more manageable in theory than it was in reality. She needed to find a way to catch her old teammate off guard.

Sasuke let out a sound similar to that of a low, frustrated growl as he tensed his whole body, expelling the now lax grass needles from his skin and leaving behind only a multitude of small, bloody pinpricks on his body.

Glaring at Sakura with a dangerous look she was familiar with, but had never before experienced directed at her, Sasuke threw down his left arm and began preparing the Chidori.

'_**The Chidori! That's one of his strongest moves!'**_ Inner-Sakura tried not to panic as the crackling ball of energy grew at the palm of Sasuke's hand.

Indeed, it was, and Sakura knew she was in a bit of trouble. But, to that end, so was Sasuke.

'_If he's using that move on me already... he's running low on patience and energy.'_ Sakura calmly tried to figure out what she was going to do with this rapidly forming threat, even as she felt her heart-rate increase and her adrenaline pumping faster through her body. _'He wants to end this _now._'_

'_**He finds us a threat!'**_ Inner-Sakura got with the mental program, catching up with the significance of the situation. There was no time for a mental cheer and fist pump for small victories as Sasuke hunched low to the ground and ran towards Sakura.

The Chidori tore up the ground below as Sasuke let it rake beside him before pulling up his arm, preparing to end Sakura's role in delaying him.

Sakura knew there was no way she could dodge this attack; with the Sharingan, Sasuke would follow her every move and make sure she did not escape.

Knowing that, the medic-nin didn't even try to dodge the oncoming assault.

Instead, Sakura allowed herself just one miniscule grin as Sasuke closed in on her and thrust his hand forward. The moment that followed seemed to drag on for eternity, when in reality it only lasted a mere few seconds.

Releasing the chakra the kunoichi had previously stored in her finger tips when Sasuke and Naruto were fighting, Sakura let it flow down through her hand as she dug in her heels and threw up her left arm, catching Sasuke's hand and the Chidori in her gloved fist.

Even with all of the chakra Sakura had buffering her incredibly gambled grab, she felt the bite of the Chidori as it burned through her glove, fighting with her carefully controlled chakra and scorching her hand. One wavering thought, one miscalculated chakra flux within her hand and Sakura was all too aware of the disaster she could set off in the very palm of her hand.

Sakura's feet slid back on the ground and she dug her toes in deeper, shoving her left hand back against Sasuke with all the force she could without setting off a Chidori chakra bomb. She could feel the heat of the crackling energy on the side of her face, her fist clenched around Sasuke's, trying to push him back without completely sacrificing her footing.

Sakura narrowed her gaze and cleared her mind. She would not look at Sasuke – would not use his facial expression to gauge who was winning this dangerous game of reverse tug-of-war – instead, she would focus and take the final step of her gamble.

Sakura shot as much more chakra as she could risk into her left hand and squeezed her fist tightly, feeling the snaps of bones in Sasuke's hand as she crushed his fist and barely heard his angry exclamation in response to the pain.

Sakura maintained her firm grip on Sasuke's broken hand that still painfully held the Chidori and pulled back her right arm. Placing her index and middle finger together and curling back all others, Sakura shot her right hand forward and up under Sasuke's left arm, connecting her finger tips with the underside of his upper arm and the muscle she knew would be there. On contact, Sakura released the chakra from her finger tips and shot it through his arm down the highways of his muscles.

The Chidori vanished, almost as if it had only been an incredibly realistic burning apparition.

She dropped his broken fist as if it was still crackling with lightning, having suddenly allowed herself to become aware of the immense pain in her hand.

Sakura glanced up from her ruined glove and throbbing palm as she tried to jump back from Sasuke, knowing that while his left arm would be hanging uselessly at his side after what she had done, he still had a fully functional right arm.

The kunoichi over estimated the recovery time Sasuke would need. Sakura couldn't jump back fast enough to evade the rough sandaled foot that connected directly with her rib cage; she didn't even have enough time to raise her arms to attempt to block the blow.

Sakura flew back across the clearing with the sheer force of the blow, not stopping until she hit the left support post of the bridge and unable to withhold the strangled cry of pain that was ripped from her throat as she felt the impact. Her body slumped down against the sturdy beam until she hit the ground, pink hair hanging in her face as her head lolled forward.

Winded.

She felt winded; completely unable to breathe.

Sakura began to panic as seconds passed and she still couldn't make her body open her eyes. Still couldn't escape the painful world of black where no matter how hard she thought she couldn't get her body to move.

For an incredibly horrifying moment, Sakura feared one of her ribs had punctured her lungs. That would explain the lack of breathing. It would also mean she would be losing more than just this mission in the time soon to come.

But finally, _finally _Sakura found herself able to take in a deep, shaky breath. A painful breath. She decided she'd be sticking to smaller ones until she found a way to set her broken ribs – she knew she must have at least two.

'_God_dammit_ Sasuke!'_ Sakura inwardly cursed as she slowly regained control of her shaky body, pulling her right arm up and around her midsection, her fingers lightly testing her ribs for breaks. Three were broken. _'I thought I'd finally given myself the upper hand with that move! How did you land a kick that _hard_?'_

Sakura knew that Sasuke didn't have the near perfect chakra control that both she and Tsunade possessed that allowed them to attain such powerful brute strength. Was it pure rage, then, that made that kick so powerful?

Sakura lifted her head and immediately flinched. She was going to have a hellish headache to rival even one of Tsunade's after a heavy night of drinking when this was all over. She would refuse to let the pain catch up with her until it was.

Opening her eyes, Sakura had to squint against the gray haze that plagued her vision. With each blink her sight became clearer, but her hair still hung in her face, minimizing her field of view. Why had she grown it out again? The impracticality of it all was becoming very apparent.

From between thick pink locks of hair, Sakura dizzily watched Sasuke who stood twenty, maybe twenty-five yards away as he grabbed at his left arm with an air akin to panic. Had she really been kicked through the air that far?

It really didn't matter. What mattered was that she had been kicked far enough and hard enough that Sasuke no longer deemed her a threat. As the pink-haired kunoichi flinched when she braced her left hand against the ground in an act to help support her weight while she attempted to push herself up, her burned palm rubbing into the dirt of the soil, she had to wonder if maybe Sasuke was correct in his assumption.

Shakily, Sakura felt her body give out and she slid back down the post the few inches she had conquered and felt her backside connect once again with the ground.

Okay. Try again.

Sakura gently removed her right arm from its position hugging her ribs and replaced it with her bad arm, intending to use her better, less damaged arm to support her weight for her second attempt to get back up onto her feet.

She could tell Sasuke was still trying to get any kind of movement at all out of his arm.

'_It's no use,'_ Sakura braced her back against the beam and bit back a curse as she painfully pulled her feet beneath her, heavily relying on the bridge support as she struggled to slide up it and get back into a standing position. _'That arm won't regain its functionality. It's useless. The only way to fix it would be if I specifically reversed the effects through his arm. I'll never do that.'_

Standing on wobbly legs and leaning back on the bridge support post, Sakura tentatively lifted her right hand to the back of her head. Pulling her hand away to look at it, she emitted a sigh of relief. Her fingers weren't covered in her blood – the impact hadn't cut open her head in any place.

'_Thank Kami for small favours_.'

A whizzing noise attracted Sakura's still cloudy attention and she quickly side-stepped just in time for a kunai to embed itself in the post where her head had previously been.

So okay, maybe Sasuke still did consider her a threat. And reasonably so, she noted, as she realized that her right hand had begun glowing green with healing chakra as she subconsciously set to work healing her wounds. She would heal her hand later – the glove needed to come off first, and that was an experience she wasn't too excited to have.

Providing an enemy shinobi with the down time to heal their own wounds was always a fatal error, and Sasuke wasn't willing to give her any more time.

"What," Sasuke spoke dangerously as he headed closer to her, a flaming ball in the palm of his right hand, "did you do to my arm?"

'_Of course. Of course Sasuke would be able to do fire jutsus without making any hand seals.'_ Sakura lamented her poor luck as she shifted further away from the sturdy wooden post. The last thing she wanted was to get tacked to it by a kunai and torched.

"I merely put it out of commission," Sakura snapped back, suddenly feeling incredibly uncomfortable with the whole situation as she realized how close to the edge of the cliff she was. Her dodge space was severely limited. _"_I can't fix it," she added, realizing that that was the next likely question to come forth from the angry Uchiha, "and I hope you realize that you're in no shape to fight Orochimaru with only one functional arm."

And that, right there, was something she was hoping beyond all reason Sasuke would acknowledge. With Sasuke possessing only one usable arm, so many factors in this dangerous game they were playing had changed.

She hoped, rather desperately as she moved with growing discomfort due to her broken ribs, that Sasuke would acknowledge that he had been beat by the weakest link of team seven and go back to Konoha with her. They would free Naruto, return to the village, and Sakura would miraculously remember how to fix Sasuke's arm as soon as they had him on lockdown.

Or maybe she wouldn't and she'd just let him suffer the rest of his angry life with only the use of one arm. Even so, she'd never tried reversing the effects of that attack before and she wasn't entirely sure it _could_ be done. One's body was a complicated vessel – so many things could be affected and cause irreversible damage.

Sakura ducked and cringed at the pain in her torso as Sasuke threw the fireball at her with vicious force.

Looking up into his blazing red eyes, Sakura could tell that all the hope in the world wasn't going to change this stubborn man's mind. He would not admit defeat.

Even with only the use of one arm, she could see that he still believed he could take on Orochimaru. Or maybe he was just going mad.

"Sasuke –" Sakura began in an attempt to reason with him. As much as she had spent years hating him... being taken over as a vessel by Orochimaru – which was now a very delicate factor indeed – or being murdered by that snake bastard was not the type of fate she would wish on anyone. It was her and Naruto's mission to stop him. She had barely spoken before she needed to dive out of the way of several more deadly fireballs being launched at her.

Rolling to a stop a mere foot from the cliff's edge, Sakura did her best to bite back a pained gasp at the jarring of her rib cage. She could fight with broken ribs; she had done so before. She just knew that she wouldn't be able to keep it up long enough to take Sasuke down, nor would she be able to accomplish much with the burns on her left hand preventing her from effectively using taijutsu.

She wasn't much better off than Sasuke, but at least she could still use both her arms.

Almost as if he had read her thoughts, Sasuke snarled and launched yet another fireball towards the kunoichi, bigger than the previous few.

Sakura made to run, but realized she had nowhere to go as the fireball connected with the ground in front of her, setting the grass aflame and scorching the air around her.

Sakura instinctively shifted back and threw up her arm to protect her eyes from the burning embers but lost her footing.

'_No!'_

Letting out a shriek, Sakura toppled over the edge of the cliff and fell towards the rushing river below.

* * *

'_No!'_

Naruto stared in horror as he watched Sakura fall over the edge of the cliff, having lost her balance in her attempt to shield herself from the flames Sasuke had created.

He had no idea how long the drop was, no idea whether she was injured or not, and no idea whether the riverbed was riddled with sharp rocks to end someone's life if they didn't fall into exactly the right spot.

He had no idea because he was fucking too _late, _having been held up for way longer than he had hoped by that awful jutsu Sasuke had trapped him in.

White hot anger mixed with anxiety levels he had never before experienced as Naruto ran out from the forest and straight for Sasuke. The bastard was just staring at the edge of the cliff, arms hanging uselessly at his side as if he hadn't even, if only for a passing moment, felt the impulse to save his former teammate.

Naruto growled as he created five clones of himself to join him as he rushed Sasuke.

Sasuke finally seemed to hear Naruto's rapidly approaching and hardly concealed footfalls and turned his blank gaze towards the blond, his expression revealing to those who knew him that he was just a hint dazed.

Naruto slowed down just enough for his clones to team up and begin forming Rasengans, the fifth clone pairing with the real Naruto.

Naruto didn't know _yet _what that river was like_, _but he was going to find out.

"RASENGAN!"

The Narutos charged Sasuke, who began to retreat to the bridge, one hand on the hilt of his sword, the other arm swinging back behind him almost as if the Uchiha was completely relaxed with the whole situation.

Naruto bristled; of _course_ Sasuke wouldn't have both arms up and ready to fight when Naruto made the scene – he probably thought it had taken everything out of him to get out of that cage.

Naruto hated to admit it, but it _had_ taken a lot of effort just to figure out how to get out of it, and far too much energy to follow through with his plan. Still, the blond Kyuubi container had some bite left in him, and he was going to make it sting.

For him.

For Sakura. Sakura, who had cut herself off from others and trained so hard to become strong because of this man; Sakura, who upon closer examination, must've been responsible for the beads of blood bleeding through the white of Sasuke's oversized shirt and his dishevelled appearance. And – upon closer examination, it looked also as if Sasuke's left hand was broken.

'_Sakura-chan... If he hurt you and you're drowning down there... I'm going to beat the shit out of him.' _Three angry Rasengan wielding Naruto's and two with kunai closed in on Sasuke on the bridge as the real Naruto booked it right by the overpass, running for the edge of the cliff off to the side of the ever growing fire, '_just hold on – hold on for me. I'm going to save you. Believe it.'_

A loud explosion went off near the bridge as the Rasengans made contact, but Naruto didn't stop to look at the results; he just kept running and jumped from the edge of the cliff and dove into the cool water – unmarred by dangerous jutting rocks – below.

* * *

Naruto kicked and swam with the current, frantically grabbing at the sinking form of the love of his life. He'd spotted her body flowing down river as soon as he'd managed to come up for air, her pink head bobbing just above the water and gasping for air before being sucked down beneath the waves.

Naruto desperately reached out again, frustrated with the way the water slowed him down but always managed to make Sakura just out of reach. Finally managing to grab hold of her wrist, Naruto secured his hand tightly and pulled her close, looping his other arm beneath her shoulders.

Kicking with new vigour, Naruto swam as fast and hard as he could, pulling the slack kunoichi up to the surface with him. It scared him, the way she didn't kick along with him, as if she didn't have the energy left to save herself.

'_No! Sakura-chan wouldn't give up! She must've taken in too much water when she got sucked under,' _Naruto gasped for air, sucking in precious oxygen as he broke water and hauled Sakura's upper body up above the waves. '_There's something wrong. She's strong – she should've been able to fight this current, even after that fall!'_

Attempting to fight the panic that was setting in, Naruto tread through the water and reached for the land the river had swept them to, all the while holding Sakura close, making sure her head remained above the water.

Naruto dragged Sakura up onto the grass with him, rolling her onto her side as her body began to shake and she raggedly coughed out water, choking as she attempted to suck in air.

"You're okay, Sakura-chan, you're okay!" Naruto tried to reassure her and himself as he knelt down beside her, placing a reassuring hand on her shaking shoulder as she coughed up the last of the water she had ingested.

Except, that last cough kind of sounded like she had said something.

"What?"

"Sasuke..." Sakura whispered hoarsely as she tried to elevate herself into a sitting position using her elbow, her body still convulsing slightly, "did he escape?"

Naruto felt his spirits, which had risen greatly at the sight of Sakura breathing, fall once more as he sighed, looking up and at the smoking bridge in the distance. Shaking his head, Naruto told Sakura the truth.

"Yeah, I think he did, Sakura-chan. I sent my clones after him with the Rasengan but..." they both knew the Uchiha wouldn't have let them get a good hit on him. He would have gotten away, maybe not entirely unscathed, but the fact remained that there was no way he was sitting up on that bridge waiting for them.

Sakura nodded solemnly as if she had already guessed this and frowned as she struggled to sit upright, even as she wrapped her right arm around her torso.

'_She's hurt!'_ Naruto crawled over behind her and gently pulled her shoulders back, letting her lean against his chest for support. Naruto gasped as Sakura leaned into him and lifted her left hand to examine it, the glove completely burned away in places, her skin burnt and bleeding beneath it. He felt anger boiling up within him as he wondered what Sasuke had done to her to give her such a wound.

"I'm okay, Naruto," Sakura repeated quietly what he had said to her minutes ago as she removed her right arm from her torso to rummage through her weapons case on her thigh. Sighing in a way that let him know she hadn't found what she had been looking for, Sakura turned her head slightly, indicating that she wanted his attention.

"Do you have a kunai? I must have used all of mine earlier when I was fighting Sasuke..." her voice trailed off, her tone deceptively neutral even as her eyes revealed that she was severely displeased with the outcome of the fight.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto began lightly as he pulled a kunai from his pouch and handed it to her.

"I lost, Naruto." Sakura whispered harshly, her shoulders tensing beneath his hands, "I fought him, _one on one_ like I'd always dreamed I would, and I _lost_."

"You didn't lose!" Naruto exclaimed, hating how defeated she sounded, as if all the work she'd done over the past few years had amounted to nothing. "''Cause Sasuke didn't win!"

Sakura just shook her head slowly.

"No, Sakura-chan, listen to me! The way Sasuke looked when I came out of the forest... he didn't look like you had lost. If you hadn't been knocked off the side –"

"I fell."

"– I'm sure you could have taken him down!" Naruto finished, his cerulean eyes pleading with her to believe what he fully believed, even if all he was getting was the side of her head.

"I couldn't have," Sakura argued, her tone less harsh but still defeated, "some of my ribs are broken. I wouldn't have been able to keep up with him, even without his left arm..."

'_What?'_

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned, fully remembering that annoyingly relaxed arm Sasuke had hanging beside him. Was she talking about his broken hand?

Sakura laughed lightly, in a way that let him know she didn't find much about the entire situation very funny.

"He still has it, Naruto." Sakura explained, "I just made it unusable."

Naruto's jaw dropped.

"You WHAT? How did you do that?" Naruto practically shouted before realizing how close he was to the pink-haired beauty's ear and brought his volume down a notch, but still heavy on the _holy shit_.

Naruto watched a small smile make its way onto Sakura's face. He wished she would always smile.

"It was something I learned I could do back when I was extensively studying anatomy so I could assist Tsunade-shishō with surgeries in the hospital. I was trying to find a way to stop an infection from progressing further through someone's body and I realized just how many muscles and chakra highways there are throughout one's body," Sakura tossed the kunai he had given her lightly in her hand, her attention focused on the small blade.

"With the right kind of knowledge of that system and extremely carefully controlled chakra injections... a medical shinobi can use the highways to eliminate the infection or... effectively shutdown the necessary pathways that make that part of the body work."

Naruto listened as Sakura finished her explanation, his mind still trying to process what this meant for the mission and what it truly said about Sakura's skill level.

'_She's amazing. She did _that _to Sasuke while in battle with him and she still thinks all she did was lose.._.'

Naruto opened his mouth to tell her aloud that he thought she was amazing but clamped it shut as he watched her slip the handle of the kunai into her mouth and bite down hard while she tugged the destroyed glove off her battered hand. Naruto's heart ached at the look of pain that crossed her face as she squeezed her eyes shut, the glove coming off and reopening some of the recently closed cuts on her hand.

Green chakra glowed around her hand as she healed it, the cuts and burns slowly disappearing, the blood on her hand soon remaining the only sign that she'd ever been wounded.

Naruto let go of her left shoulder and took her newly healed hand in his, lacing their fingers together.

"Sakura-chan, you're amazing," he said softly as he leaned next to her ear, happy to be holding her close. He'd hated having to tell her to go off alone after Sasuke – he knew she was a capable shinobi, heck, she'd proved it out there – but not being able to be with her and watch her back had chewed viciously at his very core.

If only they had been together...

"We need to fight as a team, Sakura-chan."

Sakura glanced up from her healing ministrations to her ribcage.

"Isn't that what we're doing together on this mission, Naruto?" She questioned softly, the beauty of jade eyes no longer dampened by the hue of disappointment and anger with herself he had seen earlier.

"Well yeah, we've been together, but we haven't been _together_," Naruto struggled to explain, "When we fought Sasuke we were always split up. If we stick together there's absolutely no way he can beat us. Believe it!" Naruto let a goofy grin show on his face as he watched Sakura smile once more at his catch phrase and squeeze his hand.

They sat quietly for a moment, Sakura leaning comfortably against his chest while she finished setting her ribs and he revelled in the pleasure of just sitting with her in his arms.

"Ne, Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you escape that lightning cage Sasuke trapped you in?"

Naruto's back stiffened and he released his hand from hers as he nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"I...umm... kind of went through it?"

...

...

...

"WHAT? Why are you always so reckless, Naruto!"

"H-hey," Naruto placed his hands back on her shoulders, trying to calm her down, "I'm okay! I did it...umm... safely?" Naruto laughed at how lame he sounded and smiled as he heard her release a soft laugh of her own while she turned in his arms and began going over his body with her healing chakra, "We just gotta figure out what we're going to do about Sasuke-teme now..."

Much to his heart's disappointment, Sakura stopped laughing and leaned out of his arms after she'd made sure Sasuke's jutsu had caused him no lasting damage. Sighing as she turned away, she pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"I guess we can assume," she stated forlornly, "That he's still headed for Orochimaru's hideout here."

"And his left arm is useless." Naruto added, moving to sit down on the grass beside her, propping his arm up against his bent knee.

"So Sasuke is going to get himself killed by that man," Sakura shuddered, and he could tell she was remembering the time the sannin attacked Konoha and killed the Third.

"Or," Naruto played Devil's advocate, watching as drops of water still dripped from his soaked sweater down his hand onto the grass below, "one functional arm is enough for that snake bastard. One is better than none, you know?"

"So we basically gift-wrapped Sasuke and sent him on his way. God_dammit!"_ Sakura cursed, pounding her fist into the ground beside her, "He can't take on Orochimaru like that!"

Naruto couldn't argue. Sasuke in perfect shape had really been pushing it in thinking that he could kill that legendary shinobi on his own, but crippled and still hurting from battle...? Naruto didn't like the sinking feeling in his gut at the bleak options that his old friend was facing and unknowingly running into.

They couldn't have known that Sasuke was still going to find a way to escape after their fight. They hadn't let failure be an option. Except... maybe Sakura had, as she was mumbling something under her breath that he thought sounded a lot like 'Plan B'.

"So... what's plan B?"

* * *

**(AN)** ** I made this chapter longer than usual since I was trying to avoid leaving it on (much) of a (literal) cliffy. This is my apology for that last cliff-hanger I left this story on for 3 years! *humbly begs forgiveness***

**Next chapter: Plan B unfolds! I hope to have that chapter, "Retaliations", finished and posted by sometime next week. Probably not as quickly as this one went up though, but we'll see! A couple more chapters left to go! Poor Sakura, thinking she failed and didn't prove anything to Sasuke =( (I think his arm begs to differ!)**

**Thanks a bunch to: ssjgokillo, ****TheresADogOnYourHeadCo****, kidloco, ****9-tailed reaper****, Footster26 and ****Mangaka Shuzen**** for reviewing chapter 11!**

**Please leave a review and let me know what you think! I really love getting feedback; review alerts in my inbox make my day =)**

**P.S. Cool guys don't look at explosions. (Stay cool, Naruto!)**

**~dancer-me**


	13. Retaliations

**(AN) Hello everyone! This one is written quite a bit differently than my other chapters as I was trying something new to bring this chapter together. Hopefully it flows! **

**Without further ado, let's read on and experience the beginnings of Plan B unfold!**

**Ps. '**_**this' **_**is flashback remembering of the formulation of Plan B and other things that occurred later by the riverbed. Yes, it will be in bold, not to be confused with **_'thoughts'_. **And yes, it will pop up all throughout this chapter and next – I can't have you knowing all about The Plan before it happens!**

* * *

Naruto jumped hastily from branch to branch alongside Sakura, heading further into the country towards the location of the hideout.

That was one thing that had seriously perplexed the blond; it's not really a hideout if anybody knows about it, right?

"_**It's not like it's some big **_**thing, **_**Naruto," Sakura stated as she looked at his shocked expression, "every village does information gathering missions, and Konoha ANBU found out about this hideout. One can't always know when they've been compromised." **_

_**Sakura sighed and gazed up into the afternoon sky, "I'm not entirely sure that that's the hideout Sasuke went to but... it's the closest one and given his haste and all... sometimes we just have to go on faith, ne?" **_

_**Naruto still gaped at the pretty pink kunoichi. **_

"_**You're telling me we **_**know**_** where Orochimaru's hidey-hole here is? Fuck, why leave it to a big freakin' rush, then? Couldn't we have just stormed the place earlier? Or-or-or did a stakeout? Or-or-or-"**_

"_**Naruto." Sakura cut off his rambling, an offsetting mix of patience and irritation in her voice that still managed to sound sort of nice, "we didn't 'storm the place' or perform a stakeout because we weren't sure Sasuke would be there and taking on Orochimaru alone is way too dangerous. Our best chance was to intercept him on his way in. Now we don't have much of a choice, and we aren't even sure he's **_**there**_**. It's just... a best guess." **_

Naruto was hoping that Sakura's best guess that Sasuke was headed towards the hideout Konoha ANBU had previously discovered was the right one. As the pair got closer and closer to the location of the base, Naruto had a feeling, deep in his gut, that Sakura _was_ right about the teme's destination.

Naruto watched Sakura as she led the way, a branch ahead. Her eyes were focused on the trees ahead and Naruto got the feeling that she was deep in thought.

They had rested for a while whilst the afternoon came and went, attempting to recover some energy after their battle with Sasuke. Sakura had been trying hard not to show it, but Naruto had known that she must have been running low on chakra after her one-on-one with the teme, that terrifying river dive, and healing both his and her own wounds.

His wounds had been nothing compared to hers. Shit, that asshole had broken her _ribs. _Sakura had also elected not to elucidate on the rough condition her left hand had been in and Naruto was trying really, _really_ hard to respect that but... how in the hell had that _happened?_

'_It was almost like she'd gone and caught a fireball!_ _Or... like... a crackling ball of burn!'_ he thought as he jumped from another branch, hearing the wood creak only a little under his weight. He desperately wanted to ask her, but the part of him that had matured over the last few years kept nagging at him that perhaps bringing up the battle with Sasuke that _she thought she'd failed_ wouldn't be one of his greatest ideas.

Naruto had found it mildly alarming that _he_ had had to be the one to enforce the idea of resting up before setting back out after Sasuke. As much as he'd wanted to go after their old teammate, he had known that they wouldn't have been able to infiltrate Orochimaru's hideout, take out the guards and perform an old fashioned grab-and-go with Sasuke while working on the ass end of their chakra supplies.

Sakura had been flustered at first, but eventually conceded to resting the afternoon away and moving in on the hideout in the evening.

"_**Naruto! We can't rest right now!" Sakura argued, surprised by the very idea of the hyperactive blond suggesting such a thing, "Sasuke's still on his way to that hideout- if we wait we could end up too late!"**_

_**Naruto rubbed the back of his head and tried to reason with her. **_

"_**Sakura-chaan, the teme took a beating and he's stupid, but he's not stupid enough to keep running to that hideout and go do what we think he's going to do without resting, 'cause then that snake-bastard's gonna do what we think he's gonna do that Sasuke doesn't seem to think he's gonna do but he'll be able to do if Sasuke does what you're worried he's gonna do and –" Naruto released a confused growl and thrust his fingers deep into his spiky blond locks, "now I'm all confused but –"**_

_**Sakura was smiling gently at him; he hadn't noticed her frustration slowly slip away as he rambled on. **_

"_**Ne, Naruto, I understand what you mean," Sakura reached a hand up and gently touched his hair before slipping her fingers around his left hand and pulling it to rest on her lap, a safe distance away from his abused hair. **_

_**She looked bashful as she lightly played with his fingers. "I'm... sorry for pushing. I know Sasuke isn't stupid enough to rush right into that hideout the way he is. I'm just... feeling really on edge right now, I guess. He's likely to take awhile to really confirm that he can't use his left arm and... Maybe try to figure out a way to hide that fact from Orochimaru before he confronts him?"**_

_**Naruto was distracted by the feeling of her soft hands on his, her fingertips brushing the back of his hand gently and almost absentmindedly as if she was unaware of what she was doing. He tried to concentrate hard on the words she was saying. **_

"_**Yeeah," He dragged out, buying himself a few more seconds to ponder, "a handicap like that isn't something you wanna advertise to your enemies. 'Cause then they'll favour attacking that side."**_

_**Sakura's fingers stilled their attentions on Naruto's hand and he resisted the urge to whine. He settled on a small pout as he watched her think, wondering what ideas were swimming through her intelligent mind. **_

"_**If he manages to successfully hide that he can't use his left arm –"**_

_**Naruto couldn't help but snort, "Yeah, he'll just come off as cocky trying to fight that Sannin with only one arm. I'd believe it." **_

"_**- If he does, and Orochimaru uses his forbidden jutsu to take over Sasuke's body, he's not going to be happy when he finds out he can only use one arm. But... I guess that would be an advantage for us and better than him taking over a body with use of two arms. It will give us three more years..."**_

"_**But we lose Sasuke." Naruto finished, trying to read the emotions evident in Sakura's jade eyes. Sasuke was a missing-nin of Konoha, but he was still an old teammate, an old friend, and for Sakura...**_

"_**We've already lost him, Naruto." **_

_**Sakura had loved the Uchiha once, before the teme had gone and done something stupid to lose her forever. It was kind of ironic how that bastard had always called him Stupid and Dead Last, but now the blond had the girl of his dreams. And Naruto... he counted his blessings, and he was going to do everything he could to keep her with him and cherish the love between them now. **_

_**Sasuke was Sakura's rival now too as well as her mission. He had known that if Sasuke made it to the base their mission would become much more dangerous and change from retrieval to elimination. Even still, he was hoping they could make it out of there with their old teammate but... Sasuke had already proved he wouldn't come easy, and wishful thinking aside, they were going to have to take out Sasuke or Orochimaru if they went in. **_

_**And taking out Orochimaru without back-up was practically suicidal. But really... they had no time to send a message to Konoha to request ANBU aid. They were in this alone. **_

"_**Tsunade-shishou...she would tell us to abort the mission. It's too dangerous now for just the two of us." Sakura whispered, her fingers once again running up his left hand to enclose around his wrist. **_

_**Naruto scrunched up his face, his wrinkled nose an obvious sign of his distaste over the idea of backing away from the mission now. "We can't do that! We have to at least try!"**_

_**A small smile made its way onto Sakura's face, and try as he might, Naruto couldn't manage to find the sadness he had assumed would be in her eyes.**_

_**Sakura gave his wrist a sudden yank, and Naruto found himself lying in her lap, staring up through a curtain of soft, pink hair into her beautiful jade eyes. **_

_**Deep, beautiful eyes that were looking at him the way he'd always wanted to be looked at by her since he'd met her. The way they had been looking at him since he woke up in the Konoha hospital and had his dreams begin to come true with that amazing kiss they'd shared.**_

"_**Ne, Naruto, let's rest then," She smiled down at him, her fingers of her left hand running through his hair slowly, gently, lovingly. "So we can be prepared to do our best."**_

_**Naruto smiled his goofy smile up at her, loving her more with every breath he took. He was going to try his best and he was going to succeed, because he had her, this beautiful pink haired kunoichi, to live for.**_

_**He loved these glimpses of the old Sakura, smiling and saying she'll do her best, even when the odds were against her. Her eyes weren't iced over like she was trying to hide something or was angry. They were just... Sakura-chan's gorgeous, gorgeous green eyes.**_

_**Naruto lifted a hand to play with the lock of pink hair hanging just by his ear, twirling it around his finger gently and happily. **_

_**His smile slowly disappeared as he propped himself up on his left arm and slipped his hair-playing hand through her hair to cup the back of her neck and pull her closer. Sakura met him halfway, her soft lips meeting his in a gentle caress. **_

_**He felt her pull away the most miniscule amount before tilting her head slightly and returning her lips to his. She kissed him back tenderly, her hand that had been holding his wrist slipping down to link her fingers with his.**_

* * *

Sakura focused on the rustling leaves in front of her, catching the quickly moving grey clouds in her peripheral vision. It was going to rain.

She didn't know why she had tugged Naruto to rest on her lap back when they had been sitting by the river, working out what they were going to do about Sasuke, Orochimaru and their very likely upcoming confrontation.

She had figured she would've been upset, knowing that their mission had become so much more dangerous and difficult because she had failed to restrain Sasuke back during their battle by the bridge. But Naruto... somehow he made all her anger with herself evaporate. He made her feel like all the weight of her world and the mission wasn't just sitting upon her shoulders, but shared between the two of them.

He had always spoken about trying his best since she met him; he possessed the most astonishing will-power she had ever encountered in her life. She had already known, back then in the afternoon when she had mentioned what the Hokage would likely say about the mission, what Naruto was going to say. Still, it had made her smile when he came out and said it in a burst of indignation at the mention of giving up.

"_**We can't do that! We have to at least try!"**_

She had had no intention of giving up, and his determination had only served to reassure her.

And possibly make her love him more.

Perhaps she had pulled him to her on an impulse; a need to feel him closer to her. He grounded her; ever since he'd returned from his training, she'd begun to feel more and more like her old self, the icy wall she had erected over the years melting in his warm presence. She'd been sort of scared of the feeling at first, like being who she used to be would make her weak.

'_But Naruto...'_ Sakura smiled as she reached a hand up to delicately touch her lips, remembering the kiss they'd shared before resting to restore some of their chakra. _'I still feel strong when I'm with him. The way he looks at me and the things he says make me feel like I've accomplished a lot; like I'm not weak at all_.'

She looked forward to when this was all over and she could tell Naruto what he did to her; how he made her feel. To when she could really show him how much she appreciated having him in her life.

Sakura held up her hand and signed to Naruto, who was following closely behind her, that they had reached their destination.

The only thing standing in her way was a sadistic Sannin and proving to Sasuke that she wasn't weak.

* * *

Naruto crouched down in the foliage with Sakura on the outskirts of the Sound hideout. It had begun to rain, water droplets hitting the canopy of leaves above them with a soft, inconsistent pitter-patter before rolling off the smooth greenery to drop on the hidden shinobi and the ground beside them.

In the distance, Naruto heard the faint rolling of thunder.

The hideout didn't look like much – a giant stone wall covered in vines, squared around what Sakura had mentioned Konoha ANBU claimed to be a courtyard of sorts. The courtyard wasn't supposed to be all that big, maybe large enough to prove to be a sufficient training ground for novice shinobis.

Most Sound ninja weren't really known for being well-trained – it made sense, given their real purpose as part of the village was to be guinea pigs for Orochimaru's research with jutsus. Naruto shuddered at the thought and a small water droplet made its way down the neck of his sweater, coolly running down his spine.

According to Sakura, the walls weren't really there to protect the small private training ground, but rather to guard the entrance to the cave within the mountain that was nestled up against the courtyard, acting as one of the walls.

"_**If Sasuke and Orochimaru are at that hideout, they'll likely be inside the mountain. Small bases like those are known to have only several rooms, with a particularly large one in the centre. We should look there first." Sakura surmised, running a hand through the grass beside her.**_

Naruto turned his head to look at Sakura, her bangs already beginning to become damp as the rain fell on them while they surveyed the hideout. Her eyes seemed to almost glow in the premature darkness, the rain clouds having blocked out much of what was left of the early evening sun.

"So how do you want to do this?" She whispered, her eyes moving right to left and back, presumably scanning the perimeter, maybe even looking for a _door_.

Naruto figured he'd start there.

"First step I guess is to find a way in there," Naruto, who had never really been all that good at whispering, shifted a bit closer to her and tried to breathe the words into her ear as softly as he could.

Sakura shivered slightly, causing Naruto to glance down at her bare arms, water droplets trailing zigzag lines down them before being absorbed into her once white elbow pads.

'_She must be cold!' _He surmised, knowing that the lack of sun and the cool water didn't really make for a cozy situation. He tried to shift a bit closer to her, hoping that maybe some of his obscene body warmth would reach her. He'd always been an incredibly warm person.

"There's no gate," Sakura responded, her eyes still glued to the hideout walls, "at least that's what the ANBU reports say. There's probably a secret entrance somewhere. But I was thinking more along the lines of attack strategy. Do we go for stealth and sneak in or do we make our presence obvious?" Sakura moved her eyes then to look at him, a small glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

Normally, the plan of attack wouldn't really be up for question – they were shinobi, they didn't _do_ obvious. But... Naruto grinned toothily back at Sakura. He _was _Konoha's Number One Loudest Shinobi. Go big or go home. And maybe...

"If we do obvious, maybe the commotion outside will slow things down inside the cave." Naruto said, shaking some of the water from his dripping hair, "I doubt it will make either of them run. Orochimaru's not the type, and Sasuke would never let him."

Sakura wiped some of the rain water from her face, and Naruto smiled at her apologetically, though she didn't seem to mind. Once you're wet you're _wet_ and extra water didn't really matter, he guessed.

"It might also cause things to speed up." Sakura whispered then, looking Naruto straight in the eyes.

"So we do this loud and we do it fast."

Sakura nodded curtly, and in a blink of an eye the two shinobi were up and dashing to the large hideout wall, keeping their eyes peeled for any traps along the way. They encountered none.

Naruto crouched down next to the wall and ran his hands along the brick and through the vines, poking at oddly shaped rocks or ones that appeared to be a different shade than the rest. Key word being _appeared_, given that his night time colour vision wasn't all that great, either.

"Naruto," Sakura hissed quietly from her position pressed up against the wall, "What are you doing?"

He paused his wall poke-age to glance up at her, blinking several times to remove the droplets of water that had dripped from his hair into his eyes.

"Trying to find the trigger to the secret entrance."

Sakura smiled brightly at him then, even as her eyes were giving him her best, "_Seriously, Naruto?"_ look.

"You said loud, right?"

Naruto nodded, still crouched where he was with his hands pressed up against the wall.

"Then we go big or go home, right?"

Naruto nodded again, before jumping out of the way of falling rocks as Sakura's fist went through wall, shattering the bricks with a huge crash.

"There we go, now we have a door." Sakura smiled at him as he sat sprawled on the wet grass, gawking at her. Small but deadly – definitely something he would remember.

* * *

Sakura stepped through the hole she'd made in the stone wall and into the courtyard. The ground looked as if it had been covered in grass once, before quite a bit of use came to it and the grass in some places gave way to small piles of dirt – now mud after being mixed with the rain.

Naruto wasn't far behind her, having quickly recovered from his stupor and fallen into position behind her. She couldn't resist the small smile that graced her lips – Naruto would never get used to her brute strength, would he?

It had only been mere seconds since the pair of Konoha shinobi stepped through the rubble of the wall before a kunai with an exploding tag whizzed through the air and landed between the two of them.

Sakura and Naruto both jumped out of the radius the explosion could cover. Digging her heel into the ground and spinning around, Sakura caught the fist that was aimed at her and flung the Sound shinobi over her shoulder and into the small explosion.

The battle had begun.

"_**Do you think the hideout's guarded?" Naruto questioned, before shaking his head roughly, "Bah, of course it is. It would just be too easy if it wasn't."**_

_**Sakura sighed as she finished taking inventory of her weapons case. "Yeah, it most likely will be. But I'd be willing to bet it won't be too much for us to handle. Sound shinobi aren't the best, and Tsunade-shishou's convinced that Orochimaru has all the ones that are worth anything out on missions."**_

"_**Yeah?"**_

"_**Yeah. If the base is guarded, it's probably by maybe a dozen or so Gennin or Chuunin level shinobi."**_

_**Naruto smiled. "We can take that no problem!" **_

_**Sakura strapped her weapons case back onto her thigh. "Yeah, we can. Provided we don't get cocky. One slip-up and it makes the next stage of the battle much harder."**_

_**Naruto's smile waned a bit and he nodded, solemnly. **_

Sakura side-stepped three kunai flying towards her and ducked, letting a kick fly over her head. An idea coming to her, she reached up and grabbed the shinobi's ankle while her other hand shot forward and ripped the weapons case from their thigh.

Tossing the pack onto the ground, she twisted their ankle, pulled them closer and kneed them in the head, dropping the shinobi as they became dead weight. They wouldn't be waking up for awhile, if at all, and Sakura _loathed_ taking weapons off of those that had fallen in battle.

Sakura flipped back as another Sound shinobi appeared before her, punching and swiping at her with a surprising speed. She didn't have enough time to grab the pack on the ground, and so she rolled towards where the kunai previously thrown at her had been embedded in the ground. Grabbing the small weapon firmly in her hand, she spun around and stabbed the ninja coming at her, before kicking him off her weapon.

She had to be ruthless. She was a shinobi, and these Sound ninja were in the way of her mission.

"_**One slip-up and it makes the next stage of the battle much harder."**_

Sakura felt the presence of someone unfamiliar behind her and swung her elbow back, feeling her arm smart a bit as she connected with body armour. So okay, not all of these poorly trained Sound shinobi were stupid. She jumped away and risked a glance behind her at Naruto who, together with several of his shadow clones, were doing a great job taking on several aggressive shinobi.

Stepping back and dodging the jabs from her opponent, her feet splashed in puddles of water and mud, the splashes dancing around her ankles as she displaced the liquid with every glide she made to avoid her enemy's weapons.

So his body was guarded. This wasn't really all that big of a deal.

Sakura ducked and lunged forward, bracing both her palms on the slick grass beneath her, mere inches from her enemy's feet as she swung her body up, kicking away their weapons while her legs lifted and, with a strong push off the ground, she secured her thighs around their neck.

She clenched her abs as she pulled the rest of her body up while the man, she deduced, struggled beneath her. She grabbed both sides of the Sound shinobi's head and with a quick jerk, broke her nameless opponent's neck and flipped back, tossing the shinobi over her and into the stone wall.

Rolling back up and onto her feet, she looked around at the bodies sprawled across the courtyard, prepared to continue the fight.

The only movement she could see was the rustling of clothing on the scattered Sound shinobi, incapacitated or forever gone from this world, in the cold wind.

"Naruto!" she called out, trying to get a glimpse of his shock of blond hair. Together with his clones he had taken on more than half of their attackers.

"Over here, Sakura-chan!" She heard him call out. Turning, she saw him standing near a tree and a small pile of bodies, high-fiving his few shadow clones before they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

She smiled at his antics and jogged over to him, bending over and grabbing the weapons case she had previously snatched from one of the Sound shinobi along the way.

"I think that's all of them," he said as he wiped the mud from his hands off on his pant legs. Sakura came to a stop next to him and dug through the bag, pulling out all of the kunai and slipping them into her own weapons case before tossing the sack onto the ground.

"The entrance to the cave looks like it's over there." Naruto pointed to a dark opening in the mountain that looked like it had been previously hidden behind a large tree before an unfortunate soul had been smacked through the trunk, snapping the tree in half.

"Let's move in," she said, but not before wrapping her hand, mud and all, around the collar of his sweater and yanking him down for a quick kiss.

She felt him move his lips roughly against hers, his hands grasping her hips and pulling her closer to his body. Adrenaline from the battle still pumping through her system she kissed Naruto harder, tasting the rain water on his lips as it mixed with his own unique taste.

She had been worried when she'd seen him up against so many opponents, even though she knew it had been silly of her. Naruto was strong; he could take care of himself. They had a much harder battle coming at them but still she allowed herself to indulge in this one, short moment of knowing he was safe as he held her, warm in his arms.

She broke the kiss and pulled back, jade orbs meeting cerulean.

With a nod that held more meaning than either thought they knew the words to express, they ran for the cave entrance.

* * *

**(AN) This chapter wasn't supposed to be fluffy - like at all. *smacks cumulus cloud away* STOPPIT! NO FLUFF! D: ANGST! Aaaa**_**ngst!**_** Next chapter, I guess. Give it a few days? Parts of this ended up longer than I intended. **

**On that note, I was kind of in love with Naruto in this chapter. ^_^**

**Thank you soo much to those who reviewed my last chapter! Big ups to ssjgokillo, ****kidloco****, NorthernLights25, ****Mangaka_Shuzen****, 9-tailed reaper, ****Footster26**** and Mattew! I appreciate your kind words so much! **

**Please leave a review and let me know what you think =) Reviews make my day! You may have no idea the motivational power a review alert has on an author =)**

**Ps. Poor Naruto, so oblivious to what made Sakura shiver ;)**

PPs. Let me know if the bold was hard on the eyes - I'll try to find another way to incorporate the memories. I'll be using the same technique in the next chappy, too! 


	14. Consternations

**(AN) Consternations! A word with you all: I'm sure many of you have noticed that I started writing this story back in 2007 before I took a **_**long**_** break. As such, I'm still working on the plot line I came up with back then, even though the anime/manga has progressed a LOT since then. Please humour me and my actions in this story!**

**Also, please be informed that I'm really not up to date on the series – like actually, I watched Naruto Shippuden episode 51 last week – and so some things may feel as if they clash with the original story on a rather intense level. But this is fanfiction - so creative liberties, ya know? =P**

**Again, this chapter is written differently from the rest of my story and it is super big! Please enjoy! (and I apologize in advance for all the lines – a necessary evil!)**

* * *

Sakura ran through the entrance of the cave, the sound of her sandaled feet slapping against the puddles underfoot reverberating within the cavern. The inside of the base was dank, cool, and had an unnerving eerie feel to it that Sakura tried to push away, not wanting anything to interfere with her frame of mind.

She could hear the thunder rumbling outside as the loud boom made its way through the cavern, rolling throughout the tunnelled area as if it were more than just a sound but its own solid entity, filling up the space around her while she ran.

Her feet splashed through more puddles as she pushed harder, deeper into the cave, vaguely aware that the tunnel was bringing her and Naruto further down; down into a moist cavern with water lethargically dripping down the walls, slowly pooling on the rock bottom and pushing outward, creating a thin sheet of water to be displaced with every step they took.

Did this water pool here all the time, or did it only do this when it rained as it did now? Sakura figured that there was too much of it to just be rain water and that there must be a body of water somewhere nearby that had eroded parts of the mountain and managed to slip through its cracks.

The area was humid, the air tugging at her lungs like she was somehow able to breathe underwater. Why establish a hideout here? The mountain's insides were beautiful in its eeriness, but the sluggish feeling the atmosphere bestowed upon her was incredibly disconcerting.

Maybe training down here gave one a better appreciation for open air and oxygen.

She skid to a stop as they approached a three pronged fork in the cavern pass, water shooting up and dancing around her shins before falling back down in a wave of trickling droplets. Water sprayed and rippled beside her as Naruto came to a stop next to her, his breathing long and deep as if he too needed to adjust to the density of the air.

For a moment the only sound that accompanied their breathing was of smaller water droplets dripping from their hair and clothes, rolling down their skin and falling into the thin layer of water below. Their small echoes were overpowered by the faint sound of more rolling thunder.

"_**Small bases like those are known to have only several rooms, with a particularly large one in the center. We should look there first." Sakura surmised, running a hand through the grass beside her.**_

"Center path?" Naruto questioned, his fingers flexing next to him as if he'd spent the entire sprint with his hands clenched in fists. Perhaps he had, because looking down at her own hands she realized she had done the same.

She felt as if every part of her body was overclocked, preparing for the battle she knew was only moments away even if they picked the wrong path to traverse.

Orochimaru _and_ Sasuke Uchiha.

Had they really thought this through enough?

Had _she_?

If they wanted to get Sasuke out of this hideout alive, they needed to kill Orochimaru.

The very idea that the two of them thought they even had a chance would be laughable to many. Orochimaru was a _Sannin_. Add that fact to the news that Sasuke had already escaped her and Naruto twice already and Sakura was more than aware that this upcoming battle was anybody's game.

But she wouldn't back down. She wouldn't and Naruto wouldn't.

They were in this to save their old teammate. They would do whatever they could to keep Orochimaru away from him. She would save him and Sasuke would have to acknowledge that she wasn't weak anymore.

And if Orochimaru still got to Sasuke...

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto questioned, his breathing having somewhat adjusted to the cavern's climate.

Sakura pulled herself out of her thoughts – they had no more time to think.

"Center path," she confirmed, focusing her gaze straight ahead, "let's go end this."

* * *

Naruto ran through the cave, barely a pace behind Sakura, determination hardening his normally easy going demeanour.

Sasuke wouldn't get away from them again; if he was in this hideout he'd be cornered. He'd either leave with Team Seven or...or...

'_Three strikes and you're out.'_

Naruto didn't like the second option. And he especially didn't like the third option so he kicked his speed up a notch, splashing past Sakura as he ran towards the end of the tunnel.

The ground beneath him began to dry, the water either having not made it this deep into the mountain base or the ground had begun to incline. Naruto didn't really care for the specifics as he approached two huge double doors.

His heartbeat kicked up a couple thousand notches.

'_Sasuke-teme... we're going to get you out of here. You better not have lost to Orochimaru already! I'll kick your ass!'_

Naruto braced his hands against the doors and looked back at Sakura who had come up behind him. Her eyes were hard and serious as she looked back at him and nodded her head once.

They both knew the stakes of this fight. They'd talked every angle back by the riverbed, making sure they covered every possible way this battle could turn. Naruto hated worst case scenario thinking but... things didn't get much more dangerous than this and it paid to be prepared.

Whatever was going to be on the other side of this door...Naruto figured it was the first and last time in his life he'd ever find himself praying to see Orochimaru.

Because if Orochimaru was there, it would mean Sasuke was still Sasuke.

Steeling himself and knowing Sakura was doing the same, Naruto shoved open the doors.

* * *

"_**Ne, Sakura-chan..." Naruto gulped as he rolled a couple pebbles around in the palm of his hand, "What do we do if we get there and... the teme isn't the teme anymore?"**_

_**Sakura sighed and turned her luminous green eyes on him, her expression sad but resolved. **_

"_**You know what we have to do if that happens, Naruto."**_

"_**Shit, I **_**know**_**," Naruto admitted with a frustrated growl, throwing a pebble into the river, "I just... don't know if I can do that."**_

_**Sakura's eyes softened and she shifted a little bit closer to him on the grass, not touching him but giving him the comfort of her presence. He was grateful. He felt all kinds of wrong right then, thinking about his old teammate's body being taken over by that snake-bastard. Thinking about having to fight Sasuke when he wasn't... Sasuke. A part of him desperately wanted to cry. **_

"**I**_** know what you mean..."**_

_**Naruto looked sharply at Sakura as she leaned forward onto her knees, wrapping her arms around herself. **_

"_**I spent... a long time feeling convinced that I was in love with him," she whispered, her eyes appearing to be focused on nothing in particular as she gazed out at the water. "And then I spent a long time hating him for things he said to me."**_

_**Naruto felt a tug on his heart, remembering the day years ago he'd seen her run past him, tears in her eyes. He'd stupidly thought she'd been rained on. God, he wanted to smack himself now. **_

"_**I trained and trained because I wanted to prove to him that I was strong, that I wouldn't fall apart on a mission and that you two wouldn't have to continue to constantly save me," Naruto opened his mouth to interject and tell her that he never hated protecting her, but she continued speaking. **_

"_**But then he left and I was **_**so mad.**_** So I trained and trained more so I could go and rescue him and he could see my skills." She laughed, a wry smile whispering across her lips before disappearing as if it had never been there at all, "and here we are, but my orders and my options are to rescue him or kill him. And he doesn't want to be rescued."**_

"_**He doesn't want to be killed, either."**_

"_**I think... if it meant dying as himself, maybe he'd prefer death over that jutsu."**_

_**Naruto was silent a moment as he rolled the remaining pebbles around in his hand. He wondered about that. Sasuke... Sasuke would probably want to fight to the end and not be mercy killed by his old friends, if he even still considered them as such. Naruto tightened his fist around the pebbles. **_

"_**I just... no matter how angry I was with him, I never dreamed about chasing him down to kill him. I knew that was an extremely possible outcome when we accepted this mission and I was prepared but... I honestly never thought it would come to that. To **_**this."**

_**Sakura looked up at him, her jade eyes suddenly pleading with him. Naruto stared back at her, completely confused at why she would look at him like that.**_

"_**I don't **_**want**_** to kill him." Naruto's blue eyes widened in shock as he started to understand where she was going; why she was looking at him so desperately. **_

"_**But I will if it comes to that," Sakura whispered, her voice unwavering even as a small amount of moisture began to build up in her beautiful eyes, "So please, Naruto... forgive me."**_

"_**S-Sakura-chan!" Naruto tripped over her name as he reached for her, grabbing her arm and pulling her in close to him. He held her tightly, burrowing his nose in the softness of her damp hair as she shook gently in his arms. **_

_**Naruto was shocked. Sakura... Sakura thought he wouldn't forgive her if she had to kill Sasuke for the sake of this mission? God, he accepted this mission too! **_

"_**Sakura-chan..." he whispered, "what are you talking about? There'd be nothing to forgive! This is hard for us both!"**_

_**Sakura shifted slightly out of his arms, her eyes still focused anywhere but at him.**_

"_**I just thought – I mean, you **_**know**_** how mad at him I am. I... I didn't want you to think that I purposefully destroyed your bond with him out of spite if I killed him."**_

"_**I would **_**never**_** think that, Sakura-chan. Never."**_

_**Sakura gifted him with a small, grateful smile that faded away far too quickly. **_

"_**We'll have to kill Sasuke if Orochimaru performs that jutsu," Sakura said the words she had spoken earlier as she looked straight into his eyes.**_

_**Naruto sighed and frowned as he chucked the rest of the small stones into the rushing river. **_

"_**He won't be Sasuke anymore. It'll be Orochimaru who only **_**looks **_**like Sasuke."**_

* * *

Sakura felt a waft of cool, stale air as the huge double doors swung open, revealing an enormous room encased in the mountain's walls, large stone support pillars scattered about.

Shadows danced across the chamber, cast by the torchlight that sprung out from the walls at consistent intervals. The flames stirred in the light, almost non-existent breeze. There had to be some sort of wind tunnel located nearby in the mountain.

She glanced around the room, trying to discern movement that wasn't caused by the flickering flames. Sakura quietly stepped further into the chamber, walking at a slow, guarded pace alongside Naruto.

Her eyes leaped left and right, attracted to the illusions cast by the fire.

As Sakura made it towards the center, she began to doubt her guess that Orochimaru and Sasuke would be in this room, let alone this hideout.

"Tch." Naruto breathed out as his eyes darted around the room. He appeared incredibly ill at ease, as if the dejection and doubt that had started to assault Sakura hadn't quite made it to him yet.

Sakura turned to take one last look about the cavernous chamber, her eyes skipping over the flames' moving shadows.

A cold chill crept up the kunoichi's spine as her eyes darted back a few feet and focused on a particular shadow.

A shadow that was not moving.

Quickly, Sakura reached into her pack and pulled out a kunai, throwing it up in front of her as she jumped back closer to Naruto, getting his attention. There was no point in being slow or subtle – the figure had to already know they were there.

Naruto turned around sharply, startled by her sudden movement. His blue eyes took in her battle stance and quickly he followed suit, throwing up his fists and following her gaze to the shrouded figure across the room.

A dark chuckle, low and eerie reverberated amidst the pillars. The shadowy figure advanced towards them, approaching the light of a flame and Sakura gripped her kunai tighter.

A low growl emanated from Naruto as the firelight splashed across the figure's face, revealing yellowy eyes with black slit pupils.

"Ah, how nice to have surprise guests," Orochimaru hissed ghoulishly as he stepped further into the torchlight, revealing his purple lined eyes and pale face framed by long black hair.

Sakura felt a strange, disturbing relief flit through her as she noted his body. It was the _Sannin's_ body that he'd possessed the last time she'd encountered him. He hadn't stolen Sasuke's.

Her relief washed away as she attempted to prepare herself for this close encounter with Orochimaru, who was appearing to be at his most sadistic as he continued to speak in his snake-like voice.

"Unfortunately I've only set the table for two." A disturbing grin appeared on his face, "how rude of me."

"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto barked, unable to stand still and quiet any longer.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed menacingly, even as that unnerving grin remained on his lips.

"How rude of _you_. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." In a flash, Orochimaru threw out his arm and launched a barrage of kunai at the two Konoha shinobi.

Deflecting some and jumping out of the way, Sakura whipped her head up to glare at the Sound-nin, who continued to stand, relaxed and frightening in the light of the fire.

Orochimaru's amber eyes crossed the chamber and settled on Sakura, who knelt on the stone ground, armed and ready for another attack from him.

"You see," he drawled, a slight hiss ever evident in his voice, "You're interrupting something rather private. Between me and _my apprentice._"

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled from the other side of the chamber. Sakura could imagine him standing and frantically looking around, trying to locate their old teammate. She wouldn't look to verify her imaginings herself, however. Her eyes were stuck staring back into amber, unwilling or unable to look away.

"Hn."

Sakura's eyes snapped open wider at the familiar sound. Another figure slowly began to immerge from the darkness behind the Sannin.

"Sasuke..." she whispered as the Uchiha stepped into view, several yards behind and to the side of Orochimaru. His left arm was slipped into his shirt with his wrist hanging out at the front, the very image of laid back and relaxed.

Sakura's eyes rose to meet his and she knew from the subtly angry heat in his eyes he had noticed where she had previously been looking.

She also suspected that he was wondering whether she was going to announce his flaw to Orochimaru.

She tried her best _'Seriously, Sasuke?'_ look, which was not at all like her Naruto one. This one had no humour to it; only thinly veiled distaste that he would think so little of her.

'_I'm not that stupid or that cruel, Sasuke!' _Sakura's mind screamed as she tried to focus her attention on both Sasuke and Orochimaru, _'Please show me a sign that you at least notice that much!'_

Sakura could feel Naruto's attention pushing past her and boring a hole into Sasuke and his fake aloofness. She knew he couldn't possibly be that laid back about this whole ordeal. Could he?

"Sasuke." Naruto ground out, "come back to Konoha with us."

"Hn." Both Sakura and Naruto were familiar with that sound said in that particular way. It meant _No._

Apparently, Orochimaru also picked up on Sasuke's finality and a small smile appeared on his lips, as if he found the pitiful attempts of Team Seven to get Sasuke back to be most amusing.

"Kill them, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru ordered, that smile still on his lips and his head slightly tilted to one side, his expression giving Sakura the feeling that he was preparing to thoroughly enjoy their slaughter at the hands of their old teammate, "and then we can continue our chat."

The distinctive sound of metal sliding against its sheath echoed throughout the hall as Sasuke pulled out his sword.

Sakura tensed. Was Sasuke actually going to take that order from Orochimaru?

Sakura's eyes flicked to the Sannin. What good would it serve Sasuke to kill them both right now?

And suddenly, as Sasuke's sword was fully drawn, Sakura knew what was going on.

It would do Sasuke absolutely _no_ good to kill her and Naruto at this time. They all knew that the Konoha-nin wouldn't go down without a fight and two against one, no matter how good Sasuke had proved himself to be, were not good odds.

Orochimaru was looking to kill three birds with one stone. Destroy the Konoha shinobi, who consisted of a world class medic-nin and a Jinchuuriki, and exhaust Sasuke to the point that taking over his mind and body would be ridiculously easy.

'_Does he think that making Sasuke kill his old teammates will weaken his mind enough to let Orochimaru take him over?' _Sakura glared her green eyes at the Sannin.

Sasuke was smart; he _had_ to see through this plan.

As Sasuke lurched forward towards his target, Sakura leapt to her feet and dashed to the side. Not taking the chance to look over at Naruto and see if he had come to the same conclusion, Sakura went on hope that he would remember their earlier conversation and Sasuke would do what she thought he would.

"_**Okay," Naruto leaned on his bent knee as he sat on the grass, "next scenario. We make it to the hideout and the teme's already fighting Orochimaru."**_

_**Sakura nodded; this was a very possible situation they could run into in the hours to come.**_

"_**Then we help him kill Orochimaru; it's not part of our mission, but it helps Konoha out a lot."**_

"_**That's the best idea." Naruto agreed, "It would be way too complicated if we tried to grab the teme and go." He looked at Sakura, "and dangerous." Naruto added.**_

_**Sakura gave him a small smile, glad to know that he was acknowledging reckless plans for what they were.**_

_**A moment later Naruto growled and dug the fingers of one hand into his still wet hair. Sakura suspected she knew what he was thinking. **_

"_**We're going to end up helping him," Sakura squeezed some water out of her own hair, "He's not going to want it, and if we succeed there's no guarantee we'll be in any shape to subdue him afterwards."**_

_**Naruto grumbled and rested his forehead on his arm. **_

"_**This mission **_**sucks."**

_**Sakura couldn't help but agree. Everything had worked out so much simpler in her dreams.**_

* * *

Naruto watched Sasuke lunge, sword drawn, directly at Orochimaru. He'd seen this coming about a millisecond ago, shortly after he'd noticed Sakura jump to her feet and prepare to run somewhere.

Orochimaru's eyes widened as Sasuke's sword pierced straight through him, unbelievably sharp and a deadly blow.

The surprised look melted away as the Sannin dissolved into a pile of hissing snakes. Sasuke jumped back and slashed through a snake that lunged at him.

The snakes were _everywhere_, and Naruto was experiencing a creepy tingling sensation that was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"Kawarimi no Jutsu!"

Naruto landed closer to Sakura as he watched Orochimaru emerge from behind the pillar the blond had been previously standing against. The boulder he had replaced himself with had a kunai embedded in the back.

"Ah, so it's come to this." Orochimaru spoke, an evil look on his face, "you disappoint me, Sasuke-kun."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched.

"Would you just shut-_UP_?" He blurted out. Breathing deeply and feeling angry that everything really _had_ come to 'this', he shouted "We're taking Sasuke back to Konoha!"

"I'm not going anywhere, _dobe_." The Uchiha's cool voice came from behind the blond.

Naruto grit his teeth and Orochimaru just quirked his lips. "No, he's not." He agreed.

"Sen'eijashu!" Orochimaru punched his hand forward, and from the sleeve of his shirt hissing snakes erupted.

Naruto dodged and rolled across the ground, before quickly getting up upon remembering all the snakes that were still slithering around. Creating several clones, Naruto sent his copies out on pest control. There was no telling what kind of dangerous venom those serpents had in their fangs and Naruto was _so_ not in the mood to get poisoned again.

Naruto looked around and noticed how the snake jutsu attacked Sasuke. _'No wonder the attack was so easy to dodge; it wasn't aimed at me!'_

Naruto caught a glimpse of pink as Sakura flipped back off of one of the support columns, throwing several shuriken behind her and tacking a large snake to the stone. The snake released a pained screech and Sakura looked up and caught Naruto's eyes.

He nodded; they needed to take out Orochimaru. Sasuke may have felt like he could fight this battle on his own, but everyone but him seemed to be aware that the odds were stacked high against him, especially with the condition of his left arm.

"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto sent dozens of his copies careening into the battle alongside him. Armed with kunai, they hacked at the snake heads even as the clones began to be demolished and disappear in puffs of smoke as the snakes fought back with the swords in their mouths.

'_Almost there!'_

Naruto leapt over a snake head and skid down the neck of an adjacent serpent, kunai out and ready as he rapidly approached the Sannin. Orochimaru's amber eyes darted to him and he hissed in irritation as Naruto flipped the blade more firmly into his hand and slashed.

The metal cut through the sleeve of Orochimaru's attacking arm but barely sliced the skin as Naruto was thrown off. Flipping in the air, Naruto managed to plant his feet downwards and dig his hand into the ground, creating some friction to slow him down before he collided with a support pillar. The blond didn't know whether the pillars actually served a purpose other than to be creepily decorative, but he didn't want to take his chances and bring the whole mountain down on them.

Getting back up onto his feet in a flash, Naruto charged back into the fray.

Sasuke was in a vicious sword fight with the Sannin, only Orochimaru's sword seemed as if the hilt was in his throat.

The thought _'fuckin' creepy'_ made an appearance in Naruto's mind before a shot of pink blasted into the fight and Sakura skid beneath the clash of swords, bracing her palms on the rough ground and kicking her leg up into the Sannin's stomach.

Orochimaru lurched back as Sakura sprung from the ground, her gloved fist going for a well aimed shot to the Sound-nin's jaw. Orochimaru ducked the punch and aimed a low kick for Sakura, his goal to knock out her footing clear. Sakura jumped over the swipe and swung her knee at his head, but he slid back out of range.

Sakura pushed forward, pursuing the Sannin as he continued to dodge her attacks with relative ease, having already sucked his sword back into his throat. Naruto was almost in range to join the combat, his hand reaching into his weapons case and slipping several shuriken between his fingers when he saw it.

Sasuke had moved in closer to the two battling shinobi and pulled back his sword to strike. He'd have a perfect shot at the Sannin's heart – if he went through Sakura to get the blade there.

Panic rose inside of the blond when he realized he wouldn't make it in time to shove the kunoichi – _his_ kunoichi – out of the way. _Fuck_, was Sasuke serious?

"Sakura-chan!" he shouted out, hoping that his fear tinged words would reach her and cause her to dodge Sasuke's attack.

* * *

Sakura heard Naruto's fear laden voice shout out her name at the same time she caught the shadow of Sasuke's sword, poised to strike, dancing off the stone ground in her peripheral vision.

As fast as she could, Sakura ducked and rolled onto the ground as Sasuke's blade shot past her, a millimetre from where her head had been not even a second ago. Sakura's jade eyes widened more as she caught several uneven strands of pink flit past her, the torchlight catching on her hair.

Sakura braced her hands against the ground as she rolled to a stop, hardly registering Naruto throw several shuriken at Orochimaru who had resumed his battle against Sasuke after somehow dodging the Uchiha's strike. Her shocked eyes were still focused on the ground where she'd been standing a moment ago; where she was sure several strands of her hair had fluttered to the ground.

'_Sasuke... Sasuke would have killed me to get a hit on Orochimaru.' _Sakura let that thought sink in as a snake leapt from Orochimaru's sleeve and sliced Sasuke's right arm with its fang. Of course Orochimaru wouldn't care about poisoning Sasuke to weaken him – the Sannin would have all the immunities to the venom once he took over Sasuke's body.

'_He-He was seriously going to do it. Was he trying to actually kill me back at the bridge, too?'_ Sasuke whipped around and rammed the hilt of his sword into Naruto's gut, knocking the breath out of the blond and pushing him out of the battle once more.

Sakura flinched as she crawled up onto her knees, but felt relief course through her as Naruto did the same, touching his stomach lightly before putting his hands together for a jutsu. _He was okay_.

A few quick hand movements and a large shuriken appeared in his grip. He slipped his hand through the center hole, spun back and threw the weapon with incredible force.

The blade whirled towards Sasuke and Orochimaru as the two continued to viciously aim blows at each other. Sasuke wasn't letting Orochimaru get enough time to put his hands together for a jutsu, and Sakura was beginning to suspect that Sasuke's fire release jutsus were the only ninjutsu that her old teammate was capable of doing one-handed. That in itself was still impressive.

The shuriken rapidly approached the battling nin and both took note, jumping back from their fight to let the weapon fly past between them. Sakura watched as the shuriken whizzed between the two and then shattered into dozens of smaller shuriken at the clap of Naruto's hands.

The small deadly weapons spun out and began to whirl towards Orochimaru. Orochimaru's tongue slipped out of his mouth before sliding down to lick his lips, almost as if he enjoyed the deadly thrill of a new jutsu he'd never before encountered.

Sakura shuddered at the thought.

Finally standing, Sakura watched in alarm as Orochimaru deflected and dodged many of the shuriken but still managed to suffer several gashes from the small weapons that had made it through his defences.

Sasuke grunted in pain and Sakura glanced over at him, surprised to see some of Naruto's deflected shuriken impaled in his chest. Sheathing his sword, Sasuke began to jerkily tear the weapons out, his anger almost palpable.

She needed to get back into the fight; she needed to kill Orochimaru before he harmed anyone else and took over Sasuke's body. She _would_ be strong.

Sakura whipped a kunai out of her case and threw it at the Sannin, whose attention had been temporarily diverted from Sasuke to Naruto, who had proven that his skills would be a nuisance for Orochimaru's plans if he wasn't dealt with.

Orochimaru dodged the small blade and caught Naruto's kick, throwing the Kyuubi container down onto the ground before spinning around to fight Sakura once more. His snake-like eyes were narrowed in angry slits and Sakura could tell that he was beginning to lose his patience with this battle.

'_Yeah, well, so am I!'_ Sakura thought as she swung her fist and it finally collided with Orochimaru's jaw, sending the Sannin skidding back on the cold, hard ground. He got back up to his feet, wiping a trace amount of blood from his lips with the back of his hand.

Sakura tried to control the fear that was slowly beginning to bubble up inside of her as Orochimaru's gaze fixed on her, murderous intent radiating from him. The Sannin was finally finished with these _games._ This whole situation was no child's play to her.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"

Sakura whirled around as countless fireballs burst into the chamber from Sasuke; it was obvious the Uchiha had also reached his last straw of patience with the way this fight was going.

The fireballs whipped towards her, the flames crackling angrily as they seemed to track her every movement. There was no dodging these burning balls – she had to either take the hit or find a way to disperse them.

Sakura wasn't the only one experiencing this problem; the fireballs were homing in on both Orochimaru and Naruto, as well. Naruto was using his Uzumaki Formation with his clones to help destroy the attacking flames.

Focusing chakra into her hands in hopes of dispersing the flame, Sakura threw up her left palm to catch a blazing fireball as it swirled towards her. The flame disintegrated as it made contact with her chakra, but she hissed in pain as sharp metal dug into her palm.

_There were shuriken hidden within some of the flames. _

'_Shit!'_ Sakura panicked as she attempted to sidestep another fireball, _'My method for dealing with this jutsu isn't going to work if there are shuriken hidden within the fire!'_

The fireball she had dodged came roaring back at her, but before she could prepare for the impact Naruto collided with her, scooping her up into his arms and jumping away as the flame exploded against one of his shadow clones.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as Naruto skid to a stop, dust and gravel being kicked up into the air by his feet as his arms still clutched her tightly to his frame.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay?" He asked her as his concerned blue eyes looked her over, his chest heaving up and down while he struggled to catch his breath. His gaze caught on the small shuriken embedded in her palm.

Quickly, Sakura pulled the metal weapon from her hand and healed her palm as Naruto set her down.

"I'm okay," She assured him as she looked at the image of Orochimaru and Sasuke as they faced off, several yards away from each other. Sasuke was breathing hard, and Orochimaru looked as if he'd suffered several burns and cuts from Sasuke's fire release jutsu. Sasuke's body was definitely in better shape.

"_Fuck_, I have a bad feeling about this," Naruto confessed in frustration as Orochimaru's long tongue darted out of his mouth and slithered across his lips maliciously. Sakura noticed several snakes slithering stealthily across the stone ground behind Sasuke.

Sakura agreed. The whole atmosphere made her palms begin to sweat. _'Something really, really bad is going to happen..._'

"_**So what is it?" Naruto questioned after a fairly long moment of mutual silence, both nin just staring out at the river as several leaves danced across the top of the slowly rushing current. **_

"_**What's what?" Sakura asked, turning to look at Naruto while she tried to keep her voice as even as possible and not reveal that she knew that there were things still left unsaid. **_

"_**The failsafe of Plan B," Naruto said for her, his blue eyes suspiciously piercing through her, "every plan has that **_**thing**_**."**_

_**At her questioning eyebrow, Naruto elucidated, "That **_**thing**_** that's sort of hard to do, so nobody wants to do it, but it solves the biggest problem. I get the feeling that you have one," Naruto frowned and pouted slightly in disappointment, "and that you're not telling me."**_

_**Sakura's eyes slanted sadly as she looked at her love; her best friend.**__**After a moment, Sakura looked back out at the river, her jaw set determinately. **_

"_**No matter what, I have to get close to Sasuke." She finally said, her eyes never leaving the river.**_

"_**Okay," Naruto nodded, accepting that she did have a plan that she hadn't wanted to bring up, "but why, Sakura-chan?"**_

Orochimaru swiftly lifted his thumb to his thin lips and, staring in horror, Sakura watched as he bit into the pad of his finger, drawing blood, before slamming his hand down onto the stone ground and calling out a summon.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out as the ground shook slightly, rocks of different sizes crumbling from the chamber's roof and crashing to the ground beside them. A large snake filled the gap between the Konoha shinobi and Orochimaru and Sasuke.

The snake hissed, bearing it's fangs at her and Naruto angrily, its rattling noise echoing throughout the room.

_Shit_, there wasn't a lot of dodging space for a snake that big, especially wedged as it was between two pillars. If she could use her strength... Sakura shook her head in frustration.

"Naruto, I can't use my enhanced strength in here!" Sakura called out to her blond teammate, whose blue eyes were busy sizing up the snake and its potential to harm them. He looked at her now, his gaze quizzical as if his mind was lagging a bit once it caught up to her words.

"I can't risk bringing this whole mountain down on us," realization dawned on Naruto's face and his expression got a little more grim, "Plus I think there's a river pressed up against this place – if the mountain cracks we could drown before we suffocate."

And wasn't that a reassuring thought. Although, speaking of reassuring, why put a summoned snake in a place where it has little moving room? The snake seemed to be able to do little more than hiss at them ferociously and act as a wall.

Sakura felt her breath catch in her throat.

_Act as a wall_.

"Naruto!" She frantically called out, and she watched him grit his teeth together tightly as they both saw Orochimaru move to place his hands together to begin forming a jutsu. Sasuke was struggling slightly behind the large serpent, the smaller snakes seeming to have wrapped themselves around his legs and secured him in one spot.

"_Fuck_, I see him!"

Naruto ran towards the large snake, getting a substantial head start on her.

'_That snake that bit Sasuke must've had venom in it that's weakened Sasuke's mind for Orochimaru! There's no way... we'll never make it through that snake in time to stop Orochimaru's jutsu!'_ Sakura clutched her fist to her chest, her eyes frantically dancing about the room desperately searching for an alternative solution. _'Unless...'_

Sakura pushed off the ground and sprinted full force towards Naruto.

"_**No matter what, I have to get close to Sasuke." She finally said, her eyes never leaving the river.**_

Naruto skid to a stop a couple feet from the snake's body and close to a pillar. Whipping around, he called out her name and laced his fingers together, holding his hands down low as she charged towards him.

Naruto knew what she had to do.

Not stopping her momentum, Sakura ran the last few steps towards Naruto and jumped into his hands, using his push off and her own force to hurl herself up slightly over the snake's head and towards the pillar.

Focusing chakra into her feet, Sakura secured herself to the column and ran up and across the side of it and past the serpent wall, not risking enough time to look back and catch Naruto's concerned expression as he watched Orochimaru's hands move.

* * *

Naruto's heart was pounding violently in his chest. Each thud felt pronounced as it seemed to wrack against his bones and shake his very core.

He watched as Sakura cleared the snake and ran across the stone support column, her jade eyes fiercely determined and focused on Sasuke's struggling form.

His whole world seemed to slow down and time existed only in heartbeats.

_***THUD***_

His heart pounded again as he watched Orochimaru's hands move, forming his jutsu that would allow him to take over the teme's body.

* * *

_***THUD***_

Sakura jumped off the pillar and landed on the hard ground, her feet skidding back on the small pieces of displaced rock that were scattered around. She dug her fist into the ground, slowing her skid down and pushing her forward as she raced towards Sasuke.

_***THUD***_

Her heart shook in her chest; she desperately wanted to spare a glance at Orochimaru and see how far he was into his body stealing jutsu but she couldn't, she really couldn't, because she had no time and every second counted.

* * *

_***THUD***_

"_**No matter what, I have to get close to Sasuke." She finally said, her eyes never leaving the river.**_

"_**Okay," Naruto nodded, accepting that she did have a plan that she hadn't wanted to bring up, "but why, Sakura-chan?"**_

Naruto watched as Orochimaru seemed to be finishing up his jutsu.

'_Sakura-chan... she's not going to make it in time!'_

_***THUD***_

Naruto turned his attention to Sakura, but he couldn't see her behind Sasuke. The teme's head was slowly turning, as if he'd finally noticed the kunoichi scrambling towards him.

_***THUD***_

Naruto's oceanic eyes widened and his mouth went dry. Sasuke's right arm reached back and his hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword. The metal began to slide out of the sheath, the torchlight glinting off of the cool steel.

'_NO!'_

Naruto could _not_ let this happen; he could _not _watch it happen right _in front of him_ while he stood, helplessly trapped behind a snake.

_***THUD***_

Naruto threw his hand down and began focusing a mass amount of chakra in his palm as he ran towards the snake. He _had_ to do_ something_. Anything.

* * *

_***THUD***_

Sakura was almost there. Sasuke began to turn towards her as she thrust out her hand. His face was the picture of anger, and she caught the glint of his blade as it turned alongside him.

_So close._

She had to do this. She _could not_ fail. This was what the mission had come to. She _would_ accept it and she _would _succeed. She _would_ be strong.

_***THUD***_

Sasuke's eyes shot open wider and a pained growl was ripped from his throat as he staggered only slightly.

Sakura had no more time.

* * *

_***THUD***_

In his peripheral vision, Naruto caught Orochimaru's host body slump to the ground.

'_NO!'_

Naruto punched his arm forward, his palm full of dangerous crackling and focused chakra colliding with the snake. The snake hissed and flailed, unable to pull away from Naruto's blow as it remained wedged between the two pillars.

_***THUD***_

Naruto couldn't bring himself to care for the snake's discomfort; he entirely planned to go _through_ the summoned creature in order to reach Sakura.

* * *

_***THUD***_

A gasp escaped Sakura's lips as Sasuke's eyes changed, the onyx spinning and warping into amber with black slits as she closed in on him.

"_**No matter what, I have to get close to Sasuke." She finally said, her eyes never leaving the river.**_

* * *

_***THUD***_

Naruto burst through the snake and cried out as he watched the fully unsheathed blade thrust forward.

"_SAKURA!"_

* * *

"_**Okay," Naruto nodded, accepting that she did have a plan that she hadn't wanted to bring up, "but why, Sakura-chan?"**_

Sakura's hand pushed through the remaining centimetres that separated her from Sasuke's _body_.

From Orochimaru.

'_It shouldn't have had to come to this..._'

"_**Because I'm going to stop his heart."**_

Sakura dug her finger tips into Sasuke's chest; directly atop his heart.

As she shot her chakra into Sasuke's organ she looked directly into Orochimaru's snake-like eyes as they widened. She could tell he'd tried to move his left arm, his right one being occupied with something she hadn't spared the time to take much more note of, and tear her hand from him. But he couldn't – she'd rendered that arm useless.

And now Orochimaru would die, only seconds after having taken control of a new body.

_Sasuke's_ body. The Uchiha was gone now. Sakura would end Orochimaru's life just as abruptly as the Sannin had ended her old teammate's.

It was like an ocean was rushing and churning in her ears as her blood pumped through her and she released her fingers from his chest. Vaguely, in the distance, she thought she heard someone call out her name.

* * *

Naruto ran and ran and _godDAMMIT_ his running wasn't fast enough as _Sasuke_ fell back with a force, dragging his bloodied sword down with his body onto the stone cold floor.

Stone cold like the blood pumping through Naruto as he pushed himself _harder_ to reach Sakura – to catch Sakura.

* * *

Sakura watched as Orochimaru fell back, _dead_ in Sasuke's body from a stopped heart.

She watched his sword clatter to the ground beside him, covered in blood and dripping onto the gray stone ground.

_Blood?_ Whose blood was that? She'd watched Sasuke and Orochimaru fight and she hadn't seen Sasuke slice anyone with that blade. Oh _God_, had Sasuke hit Naruto while she had been tumbling across the ground? Her heart continued its painful pounding and she hurt all over.

'_No...Naruto was perfectly fine when he boosted me over the snake so I could run across the column. Then... whose blood is that?'_

Sakura took in a ragged breath as she stumbled back and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

Blood. Why was there _blood_?

Her arms felt sticky and warm, a harsh contrast to the freezing coldness she felt all over. She looked down at her hands, covered in blood as she clutched her midsection.

'_W-what?'_

Sakura slumped down onto her knees and pulled a hand away from her, mesmerized and confused as she watched droplets of blood drip from her hand and fall to the ground below.

_That was not her blood_. She would have felt _something_ if that was _her blood_.

Slowly, fearfully, Sakura looked down at the spot her hand had previously been covering.

Her red shirt was drenched in blood; a tear in the cloth evident at the side of her stomach.

Blood. _Her_ blood.

The pain suddenly washed over her and she cried out, pulling her hand back to her wound as she fell back, no longer able to hold herself upright as she became aware of her injury, her blood loss, her lack of adrenaline as she looked with hazy eyes at Sasuke's dead body slumped on the ground across from her.

'_Oh God,_' Sakura thought of Naruto as she fell back, slowly, painfully slowly. He had to still be behind that snake. Would he know what was happening? Had that been his voice she could somewhat recall hearing moments earlier? _'Naruto, oh God, I'm so sorry...'_

Sakura finally fully fell back, but her head didn't connect with the rocky ground. A warm, large hand was cushioning her.

Sakura looked up and smiled gently and apologetically into Naruto's panicked blue eyes. Those beautiful, beautiful eyes that she wouldn't have minded a couple more decades of opportunity to look into.

* * *

Naruto slid down onto the ground and caught Sakura's head before she hit the ground and gave herself a concussion or worse, split open her skull.

_There was _so much_ blood_.

"Sakura-chan?" His voice was hoarse and his heart was caught in his throat as he tried to speak. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her midsection; her hands pressing into her sword wound. Her blood slipped through her fingers and dripped down her side onto the ground beneath her.

"S-Sakura-chan?" He tried again, his voice still weak with disbelief as he looked down into her cloudy jade eyes and noticed her apologetic smile. Why was she _smiling_?

Naruto's whole body shook. Fear, panic, and adrenaline – they were all present within him as he pleaded with her to say something to him. _Anything._ Not just keep smiling that scary, apologetic smile at him.

"N-Naruto," she spoke, her voice so soft and quiet that he found himself leaning in closer so he could make sure he caught her words. "I'm s-sorry...about all t-this."

Naruto's eyes burned as tears began to form.

"Not your fault, S-Sakura-chan," He told her as his tears dripped from his eyes and landed on her bleeding form. "Come on," he encouraged her, trying to crack a smile, "you gotta heal yourself. We need to head back to Konoha together and debrief Tsunade-baachan. Okay? So...come on."

Sakura's jade eyes stared at him sadly as she flinched and gasped at the pain in her side. Naruto panicked. There was absolutely nothing he could do. _She_ was the medic-nin. He had zero training in these sorts of things. When they made it back to Konoha together, he'd make her teach him.

"T-Tell me what to do, Sakura-chan," He begged her; he felt like he was drowning. "How do I h-help you?"

Sakura grimaced as she reached her hand up to cup Naruto's cheek and noticed the blood that was rolling down her wrist. She stopped her movement and let her arm drop down to the ground beside her.

She opened up her mouth as if to speak but closed it again after taking a ragged breath. She shook her head, ever so gently.

"I'm s-sorry, Naruto."

* * *

Sakura was sorry for a lot of things.

She was sorry she hadn't had that chance to make love to him the way she'd wanted to.

She was sorry she was finding herself incapable of getting the words "I love you" out of her throat. Every time she tried to, she wanted to scream in pain and moisture welled up in her eyes.

She was sorry she hadn't paid more attention to what Sasuke was doing with his right arm.

She was sorry that she noticed the sword being unsheathed by _Sasuke_ in the first place and, body stealing jutsu aside, it had been Sasuke himself who had ultimately wounded her.

She felt cold, incredibly cold, everywhere along her body but her head that was rested in the warmth of Naruto's palm.

He looked so panicked and so scared and she desperately wanted to wipe that look away from his pretty eyes.

She was sorry that, when she thought about do-overs and if she could redo those last few minutes would she, that she knew she wouldn't have done anything differently. If she hadn't gone at his heart, Orochimaru would've had a new body, and she and Naruto would probably be well on their way to being dead right now.

She preferred looking up at Naruto as he knelt there, very much alive.

And so she shook her head at him and told him she was sorry, hoping that maybe he could use those beautiful eyes of his and read her mind.

* * *

"NO!" Naruto choked out. He would _not accept_ 'I'm sorry'. _NO. _

Naruto touched his other hand that wasn't supporting her head to her face and caressed her cheek softly as he leaned over her.

"No, Sakura-chan, don't _do _this to me!" He pleaded with her, his heart aching and hurting as if someone had an iron grip around it. _This_ wasn't the way this mission was supposed to go.

They weren't supposed to have killed Orochimaru, but they did, and Naruto couldn't find a single fibre in his being that felt any remorse over that.

They weren't supposed to have lost Sasuke, but they did, and Naruto could find it in himself, somehow, someway, to accept that it was a risk Sasuke had taken when he left the village. A risk Sakura and Naruto had accepted as a possibility when they'd accepted this mission. Naruto would find a way and be able to accept his death.

They weren't _supposed to lose Sakura. _The very thought was wracking at his soul. He wouldn't be able to accept _this_. Every fibre in his body was screaming _no, not _her. Not the love of his life; not the girl he dreamed about. Not this amazing, intelligent, wonderful girl he finally had.

_No._

"Sakura-chan, c'mon, listen to me." He scraped the words from his throat, "you're strong, you hear me? _So_ strong. You trained and got strong for the t-teme, right? You spent all those years training to prove you were strong to him, right?"

Sakura's jade eyes just stared up at him, cloudy with fatigue and blood loss, a confused look swimming within them.

"Well I'm telling you you _proved_ to _Sasuke_ that you're strong." Naruto swallowed and tried to hold back more of his tears from slipping down his cheeks. "And now it's my turn, okay? I'm selfish and I _want a turn_. So c-come on, Sakura-chan. Hold on for me, _live_ for me and prove to me that you're strong!"

Naruto's body shook more as he looked down at her slowly closing eyes. Had she even heard what he'd said?

A quiet sob wracked his body.

* * *

All of this – what her life had become, the skills she had painstakingly obtained – it had all been for Sasuke. So she could prove to him she wasn't the weakling shinobi he had thought she was and would amount to be.

All of her life – except Naruto.

Naruto had been her friend through it all, concerned about her and caring about her well-being. Caring about what she was doing to herself when she trained so hard and so long. He loved her.

He came back into her life after two years and he _still loved _her.

And what had she done for him? She guessed that was another thing to feel sorry for – all the things she hadn't yet had the chance to do with him and for him.

She'd healed him, touched him, loved him and was now preparing to die in front of him.

Could she really do that to him? Could she really just _give up_ now that she'd accomplished her mission?

_No_, she couldn't. She didn't _want_ to.

And plus, Naruto wanted her to prove to him that she was strong. And she _was._ She'd known as much for awhile now.

Sakura closed her eyes and tried to focus what chakra and energy she had left into her hand.

Her left hand glowed green with healing chakra as she slowly, painfully dragged it up her body towards her bleeding wound.

She didn't know whether she'd succeed in proving to Naruto that she was strong.

She didn't know if she'd survive this.

But damned if she wasn't going to try for him. For Herself.

* * *

**(AN) You win some and you lose some, I guess. We'll find out next chapter how Sakura fares with her wound. ='( I hope this chapter tugged on your heart strings and **_**maybe**_** had you on the edge of your seat for a bit. I aspire to write in a way that can cause that to happen. **

**With regards to the fight scene, I've been seeing it in my head for weeks now, but the really hard part was being able to take those images and write them down the way I saw them. I hope you enjoyed this one! It was difficult to find the right words to describe the video in my head. **

_**Wow **_**and THANK YOU! To everyone who reviewed my story this week! I am so flattered and glad that people are reading this and are enjoying my work. Big hugs go out to: SoccerGirl8, ****Mangaka Shuzen****, Footster26, ****Adam****, vaishy9, ****9-tailed reaper****, WhenDshitHitsDfAn, ****jman377355****, ChaoticSerenity10, ****DarkAngelLida****, always-kh, ****NorthernLights25****, Hinan Nightbreeze, ****LinkOOT****, saveme57, and ****Pyr00tje**** for reviewing!**

**Please leave me a review if you can! They are greatly appreciate and well loved ^_^**

**If this chapter got you down, hop on over to my profile (and while you're there, vote in my poll!) and take a look at my very first one-shot, "Distractions"! The title is 50% plot related, 50% because it was distracting me from writing this. **

**Until next chapter!**

**Ps. Big thanks to Narutopedia for being super awesomely useful. =D**

**~dancer-me**


	15. Captivations

**(AN) Yes, this chapter is half the size of that last one, but I worked super-extra-hard on Consternations to make it epic and meaningful and I hope it was enjoyed. Please read on and may all your questions be answered. =)**

**Chapter inspired by the song Pretty Eyes by Alex Goot. If you choose to give it a listen, you may pick up on the vibe of this chapter. =) Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto's body shook as he knelt by Sakura, her hair still cool and damp from the rain outside as he cushioned her head with his hand. His hand cupping her cheek had slid down to her collar where he could still feel the faint beating of her heart.

He didn't know what to do. Was he just supposed to sit here and let Sakura slowly die in his arms? The aftermath of their battle with Orochimaru and Sasuke was so much worse than their worst case scenario planning had allowed for.

Sakura wasn't supposed to have gotten hurt.

Naruto clamped his eyes shut in frustration, willing Sakura's wound to just _disappear_ or reappear on his own body.

He would've taken that blow for her in a heartbeat. If he'd just been _faster_ he would've pushed her out of the way. He would've grabbed Sasuke's arm and stopped him from hurting her.

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut tighter.

He _hated_ knowing that Sasuke had been himself – or whoever he'd become since he defected to Sound in order to get revenge on his brother – when he had pulled his sword from its sheath.

Sasuke had done this to Sakura. Naruto absolutely hated that thought; it made all the pain in his body just burn so much hotter, as if he was struggling in lava and gasping for breath and Sakura was his oxygen and with every second she was disappearing and becoming more and more unattainable.

_This wasn't right_.

The blond opened his eyes and looked down at Sakura's furrowed brow, his vision clouded by the tears he was still desperately struggling to hold in. She had a pained expression on her face and he felt his heart breaking even more.

Naruto saw her eyes shut tighter and he choked out her name, feeling himself fall apart even more in knowing that he couldn't ease her discomfort – he didn't know how. But he _didn't want her to _die.

He _couldn't_ let her die.

Naruto's pained blue eyes slid from her face to her side as a small movement caught his attention. He stopped breathing as he saw her left arm move, her pale hand struggling its way across her body and towards her wound.

Her hand was glowing green with healing chakra.

The air came rushing back inside him and he felt dizzy with relief as her hand finally hovered above her wound and the soothing green chakra started to work away at the large gash.

"S-Sakura-chan!" Naruto gasped as her eyes slowly opened, still foggy and not nearly as bright as they ought to have been. Her wound was slowly closing, and he didn't know much about medical ninjutsu, but he knew that it must've been hard to work on such a wound that had an entrance and an exit.

She was trying to heal _through_ herself and he knew, as those tears he could no longer withhold escaped his eyes and slipped down his cheeks, that the help she needed she wasn't going to be able to provide for herself. Maybe if she was in top shape... but not with the wound being _hers_, not with so much blood loss.

The green chakra around her hand flickered and faded and Naruto's eyes shot to her face, to the sleepy and pained smile she still wore. The blond swallowed anxiously as he leaned in closer, desperate to hear the words she was trying to form.

"I s-stopped the bleeding..." She whispered out from her lips, "t-that's all I c-can do for now. Just..."

Sakura didn't finish her sentence as her eyes slowly slid shut and her breathing evened out. She'd fallen into a painful rest for the time being.

Naruto stared down at her, still struggling in a swirling whirlpool of relief and sheer panic. She'd stopped the bleeding, so she wouldn't die _yet_. But that still didn't guarantee that she would live. The one thing the blond knew for sure was that he wasn't going to waste anymore time sitting on the rocky ground in this creepy chamber staring at Sakura as the life slowly drained out of her.

Her skin was cool to his touch and her hair was still damp and he knew it was still raining outside of the cave. Within the mountain he could still hear the faint rumbling of thunder, a sign that the storm had not yet passed.

Not wanting Sakura to suffer anymore than she already was by getting sick, Naruto unzipped his sweater and slipped it off his shoulders. His chest still clad in his black shirt, he gingerly lifted Sakura's upper body up off the cold ground and wrapped her in his sweater, hoping to keep her warm.

His heart caught in his throat once more as he pulled a hand away from her, his fingers covered in her blood. She had lost so much of it...

Naruto shook his head as he stood up on wobbly legs and reached down to scoop Sakura's limp and unconscious form up into his arms. His eyes briefly flicked to Sasuke's – Orochimaru's – dead body, several feet away.

'_If Sakura-chan was awake and well... she'd probably tell me it's protocol to bring his body back to Konoha since we were supposed to retrieve him..._' Naruto thought, but he looked down at the pink bundle in his arms, covered in her blood, some of the crimson liquid already soaking through his sweater, _'I can't bring both of them back to Konoha... if I try to take Sasuke too it'll slow me down and I don't know how much time Sakura-chan has!'_

Naruto spared another moment to acknowledge his dead ex-teammate as he made up his mind.

Turning on his heels, he held Sakura securely in his arms as he ran for the exit to the chamber.

* * *

The cool rainwater trickled down Naruto's arms as he bounded from tree limb to tree limb, clutching Sakura securely to his chest, his arms careful of her injury. His blue eyes were focused on the trees ahead of him as he jumped, on the lookout for any traps or wandering enemy nin.

He desperately hoped to encounter neither on his journey back to Konoha. Every second he wasted avoiding or disassembling a trap or fighting off shinobi was a second Sakura may not have.

He was travelling as fast as he could while doing his damndest to be wary of his surroundings. He wouldn't fail her because he'd blown off a limb by being careless around exploding tags. He _wouldn't_ fail her.

Naruto pushed as hard as he could, kicking up his speed as much as could be risked in the hazardous weather and its low visibility. If he kept up with this speed, he might be able to cut the travel time back to Konoha in half.

He knew it was reckless, but he couldn't find it in himself to care about anything else but the pink, unconscious, and slightly shivering kunoichi in his arms.

'_Sakura-chan... she can beat me up for being reckless once I get her to Konoha. Once she's healed she can do whatever she wants.' _Naruto found himself praying to the Hokages that Sakura would be well enough to throw him through a building or two, or at least give him a good solid whack for his recklessness.

* * *

Sakura felt herself slowly waking up. The heavy, warm feeling of being asleep was slipping away from her and she found herself struggling to capture it before it left entirely. She knew she'd lost it when a throbbing pain ignited in her side – there was no way she'd be able to fall back asleep with pain like that.

Why had she even been asleep, anyway? Wasn't she supposed to be on a mission with Naruto?

Sakura tried to open her eyes to get her bearings and examine what exactly had happened to her waist but found that such a simple act was causing her to exert quite a bit of effort. Some amount of panic rose up in her as she acknowledged that and she felt her heart rate increase; this caused her to note the rapid beating of said organ to begin with.

"_S-Sakura-chan?"_ Naruto's voice came through to her, heavy and thick and breathless and almost as if she was listening to him talk to her underwater. The warmth of sleep had left her and she felt her body shiver, even as the weight on her that she had assumed would leave as well remained.

She felt movement around her as she started to become more coherent. She had been in someone's arms – Naruto's, she deduced – and was now being set down against something. A rock. No_, _not that. She was rested against a tree trunk as she sat on wet grass, the dampness not really something all that noteworthy as she realized how wet she already was.

A blast of pain shot through her abdomen, burning and aching and she whimpered, unable to bring herself around enough quite yet to express the choice words that blared through her mind.

She slumped back more against the tree trunk as her mind spun and ran to catch her up on what had happened.

_Sasuke._ _Orochimaru. That sword. _Naruto.

Sakura released a choked gasp as she struggled even more to open her eyes, pale moonlight soothing her vision and letting her see a foggy image of Naruto, his blond hair damp and sticking to his forehead protector as he knelt before her.

_Her_ _wound_.

She still had it. She'd only managed to stop the bleeding for the time being back in the cave. She'd felt so tired...

Naruto's cerulean eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight, and she could see the worry and concern that was etched onto his face. He was breathing hard as he brought a hand up to her face and she was shocked by its warmth. Was she really that cold? She couldn't feel a thing anymore other than the searing pain.

Her head felt just as heavy as the rest of her body, but she managed to slip her gaze from Naruto's down to her arms that encircled her stomach, tilting her head downward to get a better look.

Naruto seemed to understand what it was she wanted to do and he reached his arms down to help pull hers away; something she was disturbed that she didn't have the energy do herself.

She realized she was clad in Naruto's orange and black sweater and its sogginess was probably part of the reason her arms felt so heavy. She didn't complain though as he pinched the zipper between his fingers and slid it down, opening up the jacket and allowing her to see her red shirt, clinging to her torso, damp with her blood and the rain that had seeped through the sweater. That sweater was probably the only reason she wasn't shaking uncontrollably.

Her injury... it was bad. She had begun to bleed again, her brow furrowing as she noted the crimson liquid that was slowly but steadily slipping out of her. How much blood had she lost?

Trying to focus healing chakra into her palm, she despairingly wondered how much she had _left_.

Sakura, with Naruto's aid, lifted her arm to hover her hand above her wound as she began pouring what healing chakra she could into herself. Sadness washed over her, along with fatigue, as she tried to fight the realization that she didn't have enough chakra to heal this.

She could try to stop the bleeding again before sleep took her once more, but she had no guarantee she'd wake up. When patients lost too much blood... Would she be able to wake up next time her wound reopened? Would she have regenerated enough chakra to be able to stop the bleeding once more? How long would she be able to pull that off?

The green chakra flickered in her hand and she struggled to keep her palm aglow.

"I...d-don-" Was all Sakura managed to say through her chattering teeth.

She didn't have enough chakra.

She couldn't do this.

She was so _tired_.

Naruto slipped his hand over hers and leaned closer to her, resting his forehead against her own.

"Sakura-chan," His voice sounded so far away and yet so clear, breaking through the cloud of sadness and exhaustion and pain that enveloped her, "Let me help you. There's gotta be a way I can help you."

Sakura attempted to lift her head and she felt Naruto's head immediately pull away so she could look into his eyes. His pretty eyes that were gazing at her with such love and desperation that it made her heart break.

_I can't do it, Naruto._ She tried to communicate with him through her own gaze, _I don't have enough chakra and I'm so tired... I'm sorry. I'm so _so_ sorry..._

She felt Naruto's hand tighten around her own and she immediately felt guilty. She was all but giving up. She stared back at him, even as the edges of her vision began to blur.

"Take it, Sakura-chan," Naruto's voice was getting quieter to her but still just as clear, even though she knew he likely hadn't changed his volume at all. She felt as if her mind was checking out, because his words weren't making much sense to her. 'Take it'_?_ Take _what?_

"Take my chakra; use it," Naruto spoke again and suddenly she was aware of what he had meant. His voice seemed to catch in his throat, "Help yourself, Sakura-chan..."

Sakura let her foggy gaze drop back down to her healing hand that was clasped in his. She felt sluggish as she focused her mind and opened up her chakra channels to him. A pleasant warmth slipped inside her, contrasting with the frigid coldness that was still tormenting her as Naruto's chakra mixed with what little was left of hers.

Sakura tried to smile as her palm flickered brightly once more, glowing green and strong and she wondered if Naruto noticed. She felt the healing chakra slip into her wound and she tried to make sense of what she could do, tried to make a useful move out of this surge of chakra and this moment of alertness as she felt fatigue rushing back at her with a force.

She didn't have much time left conscious, and so with her last few seconds she knitted at the most vulnerable parts of her wound with her healing chakra and looked back into Naruto's eyes.

He met her gaze and the hope she saw there within his blue orbs encompassed her like a warm blanket as she fell forward into his shoulder, succumbing to darkness once more.

* * *

Naruto released her hand as Sakura slumped forward into him. He clenched his teeth together hard and resisted the urge to scream. The urge to cry.

Naruto straightened up, still kneeling on the grass in front of Sakura as her head slid down from his shoulder to rest against his chest. She'd passed out, mere moments after Naruto had leant her his chakra so she could heal herself.

A cry of frustration slipped from his throat as he slammed his fists into the tree behind her, his fingers clawing at the bark as he raked his hands down the wood. Some bark chipped off and he dug his fingers in more as deep, heaving breaths shook his whole body.

He couldn't help save her if she didn't have the energy or blood to stay awake long enough to save herself. Sakura was slowly, painfully, slipping away from him.

Naruto vented his feelings and fear on the tree, angry that she was hurt and frustrated that he couldn't keep her awake and so unbelievably, tragically sick to his stomach that she was in pain and suffering such blood loss that she tried to push herself to stay awake but she just_ couldn't_.

His eyes burned and his body shook and he clawed at the abused tree trunk for another small moment before he got a hold of himself.

Leaning back and wrapping Sakura up in his arms after zipping up his sweater around her, Naruto got back up onto his feet. He held her close and hoped that his body warmth would seep into her skin and quell her shivering.

Naruto launched himself back up into the tree tops and continued his desperate run back to Konoha. He wouldn't allow himself to give up; Sakura _would _survive. She _had_ to.

If that meant that every time she stirred Naruto would set her down and lend her his chakra until she slipped from consciousness once more then fine. That was how the rest of this journey would be and Naruto would live with that and try not to agonize over it.

Because as long as the pink haired love of his life stirred, he knew she was alive.

* * *

All the times she awoke seemed to blur together and Sakura struggled to determine how many times she'd woken up, whether some things were really only dreams or if that one instance had really been two.

She had no clue. All she knew was that she felt heavy and cold and breathing was difficult and every time she awoke she so desperately wanted to go back to sleep once more, where she felt peaceful and the pain didn't assail her as it did now.

But every time she opened her eyes and experienced a brief moment of clarity she saw blue, bright blue, and a shock of blond hair and she wanted to smile and sleep became something that she tried to run away from for as long as possible before it caught up with her.

Naruto would lean over her, take her hand and talk to her with words she couldn't understand or make out but it didn't matter because she heard his voice and it soothed her as she worked away at her wound. As she tried to pump healing chakra inside of her and deal with the damage Sasuke's sword had caused her for the fleeting moment she knew she'd be awake.

The one thing she did know amidst the blur of waking up and being brought back to life by Naruto's voice was that none of her time periods spent awake were long enough for her to accomplish what she knew needed to be done to save her.

Each time she came back to reality she struggled harder, pushed harder to remain awake long enough to do something of value to her injury rather than just sustain herself but then she'd slip back into nothingness, only to awaken in a heavy blur once more.

Her conscious periods got shorter and shorter and she wondered if she'd been able to do enough.

* * *

Naruto had lost whatever cool he had left as he barged through the gates of Konoha, muddy and wet and dirty and gasping for breath but still not slowing down his pace as he ran for the hospital.

Sakura hadn't woken up for awhile now. Too long a while and he was _scared_, back to being as terrified as he'd been in the mountain when that bloody sword had clattered to the ground and Sakura had staggered back.

Her heart was still beating faintly; he knew she was still alive. But as Naruto sprinted past startled shinobi in the streets, he panicked because he didn't know how long that would last.

Naruto skid around a corner, kicking up dust as he did so and came face to face with Ino.

She raised a quizzical blond eyebrow at his dishevelled form.

"Yo, Naruto, what happened to –" She sucked in an alarmed gasp as she finally noticed the limp form in his arms, wrapped up in Naruto's bled through sweater.

"_Oh, my_ God!" Her hand rushed up to cover her mouth as she took in the pink hair and the pale, _too pale_ face that was nestled against his shoulder. She flailed for a moment before she seemed to get a grip on herself.

"Hospital. _Now!_" She ordered, and Naruto didn't waste any time growling at her that that was where he was going as she continued, "I'll get Tsunade-sama. What's the damage?" She questioned him urgently.

"Sword wound. Through her abdomen." Naruto choked out his words as he held her tighter in his arms and prepared to continue his dead run.

Ino's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she nodded and disappeared, leaving him to continue his frantic race to the hospital, glad that he didn't have to waste any time hunting down Tsunade while Sakura's clock ticked.

* * *

Tsunade kicked open the doors to the emergency room, her eyes skipping over several shinobi strewn about the room in various levels of discomfort waiting to be treated. Her eyes finally settled on Naruto's back from across the room as he stood, bickering with a harried nurse over something that she seemed to not have the answer to.

Tsunade caught the young nurse's eye and the medic-nin pointed over to her, causing Naruto to spin around.

"Sakura!" Tsunade gasped as she ran across the room to her apprentice, limp and unconscious in Naruto's arms.

Tsunade swiftly unzipped Naruto's sweater and got a better look at the sword wound she'd been informed about. Sakura's red shirt was drenched in her blood, but through the tear in the cloth Tsunade could see the damage. It was messy, as if the weapon that had stabbed her had been pulled out at a different angle than it had gone in.

Tsunade chewed at her bottom lip as she hollered at someone – she didn't care who – to get her Shizune.

"Report!" Tsunade demanded with a frightening tone, meant to snap Naruto out of his panicked and exhausted daze and release her own worry simultaneously.

"Sasuke," Naruto started, before taking in a deep breath and looking down at the pale kunoichi in his arms, "Sasuke stabbed her with his sword. She went in to take him out and... he got her."

Tsunade turned her attention to Naruto, and the blond added, "there's an entrance and an exit wound." As an afterthought.

He was obviously running on empty and sheer will was holding the boy together. Another second of silence passed before Naruto's resolve snapped.

"_Fix her_." He begged, his face was the picture of a man who was facing a loss he couldn't deal with, "S-she tried to heal herself but she c-couldn't stay awake long enough. Tsunade-baachan, she's l-lost so much blood. _Please_..."

There was no way Tsunade wasn't going to do everything in her power to save her apprentice. What had happened on this mission? She'd ask Naruto once she had the kunoichi stable.

"Where's my operating room?" Tsunade shouted out to the hospital staff and a nurse scrambled from behind the counter to go find her an empty one.

Shizune came running into the hospital, anxious as her eyes fell on Sakura in Naruto's arms.

The nurse came back down the hall and gestured for Tsunade to follow her before she dashed – no running in the hospital rule be _damned_ when it came to Sakura Haruno's life – back towards the room and Tsunade grabbed Naruto to follow.

But first, Tsunade placed a reassuring hand on the panicked and stricken blonde's shoulder.

"She's going to be okay, Naruto. I won't let her die, you hear me?"

Naruto nodded, his blue eyes full of hope but still laden with his worry and fear that he'd been carrying for however long since Sakura had been injured. She suspected it had been at least a whole day, quite possibly two. She'd know when she got a closer look at the condition of the wound.

Tsunade turned and swiftly marched down the hospital corridor towards her operating room, Naruto and Shizune right behind her.

'_You're going to be okay, Sakura. Just hold on for me._'

* * *

Naruto sat in the waiting area outside of the operating room, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

He'd been trying to calm down for awhile, but he couldn't relax until he _knew_ Sakura was okay. His body ached all over and he hadn't slept in days but all he wanted was for Tsunade to come out and tell him Sakura was going to live. Only then would he let the need for sleep consume him.

Naruto jerked upward at the sound of a door being opened and watched Tsunade step out of the operating room, dusting her hands together as her eyes settled on Naruto.

Tsunade didn't waste any time as she walked over to the blond and leaned against the wall beside him.

"She's going to be okay."

Naruto released breath he hadn't known he'd been holding as relief washed over him, so much so that he leaned his head back down between his legs, trying to quell the nausea.

Sakura was alive. She was going to be okay.

Naruto broke down into the tears he'd been struggling to withhold for the past few terrifying days. Tears of sadness were one thing, but relief was _a bitch_. No matter how hard you tried, you just couldn't hold those tears in.

Naruto dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to stop the flow of moisture. He took in a few shaky breaths as Tsunade remained quiet beside him, giving him the time he needed to collect himself.

"What's the status of the mission?" Tsunade finally asked him after he'd put himself back upright in his chair, the nausea having passed.

"Sasuke and Orochimaru are dead."

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up, "What?" she asked him, clearly having heard him but needing more information.

Naruto focused his gaze on a cracked tile on the hall floor as he answered her.

"Sasuke intercepted us on our way to him but we were unable to subdue him. We followed him to a hideout Sakura-chan knew about," Tsunade was nodding her head, acknowledging that she knew about the whereabouts of the base, "and we went in after him. Orochimaru was there and –" Naruto ran a hand down his face, exhausted and feeling ill just recollecting the fight, "he was going to perform his body transfer jutsu so Sakura-chan went after Sasuke. He pulled his sword on her and... and Orochimaru took over Sasuke, and Sakura stopped his heart."

Naruto shook his head. He didn't like thinking about _whose_ heart it had been – Sasuke's or Orochimaru's? Details like that didn't matter anymore and it hurt his head to think about it. He didn't want to think about Sasuke. He didn't want to think about that snake-bastard. He only wanted to think about Sakura, who was _alive_ and going to stay that way.

Tsunade nodded, understanding that this was as much information as Naruto was going to impart on her at the moment. But still, she asked him one more question.

"Where's the body?"

Naruto looked at her then. "I left him in the hideout so I could bring Sakura-chan here faster."

Tsunade nodded once more. He figured she had suspected as much.

After a moment Tsunade kicked off from the wall and gestured down the hall with her head. "C'mon, I'll take you to Sakura's room. She's sleeping and drugged, so she won't be awake, but you can sit with her."

Naruto smiled gratefully up at her before getting up and following her down the hall.

* * *

Sakura slowly cracked her eyes open and promptly squinted as the glaring fluorescent light overhead blinded her. Her vision was clear and for once in what felt like forever she hadn't woken with searing pain in her abdomen. She looked about the room in confusion for a minute before she recognized the hospital room.

She was in the Konoha hospital.

'_How...?'_ The thought swam around in her head for a moment before Sakura's memory caught up with her. Naruto had brought her here.

Sakura braced her hands against the mattress beside her and tried to push herself up into a sitting position, but a weight on the blankets was restricting her. Glancing downward, Sakura smiled at Naruto's sleeping form.

He sat in a chair pulled up to the side of her bed and was leaned over her, his head resting on his folded arms, his face turned towards her. His hair was messy but clean. She resisted the urge to tousle it, even though it wasn't as if the act would do much more harm other than wake him up. Still... Sakura smiled at the blond who looked so peaceful in his sleep. She didn't have the heart to wake him.

A thought struck her then as she looked at him, dressed in a clean pair of black slacks and a white t-shirt. Tentatively, Sakura slipped a hand under her blanket and felt at her side, examining the area where her wound had been. She could feel hardly anything. She'd been healed.

A small laugh escaped her lips, causing the blond to jerk awake and push himself with too much force back into his chair. He toppled over with a flourish, his arms wobbling at his sides to maintain balance but to no avail.

He groaned on the floor for a moment and Sakura tried to stifle her giggle as she sat upright.

At the sound of her muffled laughter Naruto's groaning stopped and he flung himself up onto his feet and was immediately at her side.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura smiled up at him; at the brightness and happiness in his eyes. The last few times she'd made eye contact with him... his blue eyes had been swimming with panic and fear and worry and she was so, _so_ glad that that look had disappeared.

"Hi, Naruto." She spoke, surprised by the softness and roughness in her voice. She look at Naruto quizzically.

"How long have I been sleeping?"

Naruto perched on the edge of her bed and she reached forward, slipping her hand in his. All those times she remembered waking up he had held her hand and the feeling was incredibly reassuring. He smiled down at her, pleasantly surprised and beaming with new happiness even as the bags under his eyes suggested that he hadn't been doing a lot of sleeping for awhile.

"A couple days," He answered and she raised an eyebrow, suggesting that he be more specific.

He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

"'bout four days."

Sakura stared up at him in surprise. _Four days?_ Seriously? Sakura toyed with a loose hem on the edge of her blanket.

"I'm sorry for scaring you." She whispered, remembering the last day or so in blurry chunks and pieces, but the battle against Orochimaru and Sasuke and its aftermath was still very vivid in her memory.

Naruto smiled at her and released her hand. He turned to face her more and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly to him in the most wonderful bear hug she had ever experienced. One of his hands wandered into her hair and the feeling of his fingers soothed her as she leaned into his chest.

"S'okay," He told her gently as he held her close. "You're okay now, so it's all okay."

She had survived. She _could_ enjoy those next few decades of looking into his beautiful eyes. Sakura wrapped her arms around him and breathed him in, feeling safer and more comfortable in that moment than she could remember.

She knew Naruto would probably never tell her the extent to which he'd suffered because of her over the past week. Sasuke's death, almost getting killed herself, not waking up for all those days... All those things had obviously weighed heavily on him, but he wasn't the type to live in the past. Plus, he probably thought it would make her worry. Which it would...but still. Maybe she'd get him to talk about it one day.

"Thank you." He whispered softly into her ear, still not loosening his hold on her.

Confused, she lifted her head from his chest and turned her face to look at his. "What?" What did he possibly have to thank her for? If anything, she should be thanking _him_.

He smiled at her, his eyes gentle and loving and she wanted to melt. "For being strong."

Realization dawned as she remembered the desperate request he'd made of her back in that hideout, when she'd lain weak and bleeding on the stone ground.

"_**Live for me and prove to me that you're strong!"**_

She slipped an arm up his side to cup his cheek in her palm. "You made me strong."

He smiled wider at her, even as he shook his head and then leaned in more into her hand. "You were always strong."

For some reason, his saying those words made her feel like crying. But she knew, with an amused thought in the back of her head, that if she teared up he'd start to panic that he'd done something wrong, instead of realizing that he'd said something that meant so much to her.

"I got stronger for you." She remembered how she'd cherished his hand holding hers, how she'd desperately looked into his eyes to keep her awake when fatigue had been pushing down on her hard, "_Because_ of you."

They sat there, embracing and enjoying the sheer _life_ in each other for awhile, before Naruto slowly leaned in and captured her lips with his.

Sakura kissed him back gently, trying to communicate all of her love and her feelings and her realizations over the time since they'd been together through the slow movement of her lips. There was so much yet she hadn't been able to experience with him. Life went from greyscale to full colour when he was beside her, and she looked forward to experiencing the rest of her life with such magic and love.

The door to her room swung open and they pulled apart, small blushes burning their cheeks at possibility that they'd been caught kissing. Despite everything they'd been through, not too many people knew about what they'd been through together; how much their relationship had changed. How much _she_ had changed.

Tsunade stood in the door way, her eyes on her clipboard as she slowly walked into the room. It was an odd sight, but Sakura chose not to comment.

Tsunade looked up and sent a beaming smile in her direction.

"Sakura! You're awake!"

Sakura smiled back at her teacher. A real, genuine smile that made Tsunade's brown eyes brighten.

"I have you and Naruto to thank for that."

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. "Pah, you did a great job yourself keeping yourself alive until Naruto could get you here. No average medic-nin could've done what you did."

Sakura smiled bashfully and dipped her head, not knowing what to say to that.

"I had to kick that fool out of here to go get cleaned up and eat something while you were sleeping." Tsunade added and Naruto rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. Sakura just smiled at the thought.

Tsunade tapped her pen against her clipboard, getting her and Naruto's attention.

"Okay," the Godaime started as her eyes ran down the file once more, "You've had a lot of bed rest and..." Tsunade trailed off as she wandered closer to Sakura and pried Naruto off of her. She took the pen and used it to lift Sakura's shirt up as she examined the scar where her injury had been. "You've healed up rather nicely. I'm still giving you two weeks of leave – I don't want _either_ of you –" She looked pointedly between Naruto and Sakura, "- out on any missions quite yet after that ordeal. Get some rest."

Tsunade stepped away and made for the door, but stopped and leaned against the frame, glancing back at Sakura.

"Other than that you've got a clean bill of health and are clear to go home. No missions, you got that?" Tsunade glowered for a bit before her brow creased and she turned a thinly veiled look of concern on her apprentice, "If you really _must_ do something, you can do the files in my office."

Sakura was surprised at first, before she remembered how much of a workaholic she was... a week ago. Two weeks leave was sounding _great_ to her right now as Naruto squeezed her hand. She opened her mouth to speak, even as Naruto moved to do the same.

"She's going home with me, Tsunade-baachan."

"I'm going to go home with Naruto, Shishou."

The two team seven nin shared a sheepish look with each other for assuming things – even though they were in agreement – before Tsunade's raucous laughter snapped them out of their moment.

"Well okay, that works," Tsunade pushed off the door frame and headed down the hall, smiling even as she quietly grumbled about all the filing she actually had to do herself now. Perhaps she could coerce Shizune...

* * *

**(AN) Sakura lives! *happy dance* There's no way I could've killed her – that would've depressed me WAY too much and I couldn't break Naruto's heart like that. =( plus... I LOVE WARM FUZZIES. Okay, 3 things!**

**1. At the beginning during Naruto's internal distress he is pained by knowing that Sasuke hurt Sakura, which may seem hypocritical considering Sakura had been racing to kill Sasuke before Orochimaru did. My justification for his feelings are that Sakura and Naruto tried everything to keep Sasuke from that fate but in the end they were out of options, and even still they suffered in thinking about killing him. Whereas Naruto perceives Sasuke as not experiencing that internal conflict when he chose to attack her for the second time. Plus, Naruto has his priorities and Sakura is extremely high up there. **

**2. I feel like I should change the description of this story. PM suggestions/leave one with a review? **

**3. The next chapter is the Epilogue! Stand Alone is sooo close to being done! A hint about the contents of the next chapter: Sakura gets her chance to make love to Naruto they way she wanted to. Okay... that was more than a hint. But whatever.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

**Thanks a bunch to: NorthernLights25, saveme57, Mangaka Shuzen, 9-tailed reaper, Arvarno, Orexisgrimm, and Farfikuger for reviewing Consternations! Your reviews are GREATLY appreciated. They inspire me to continue writing fanfiction =)**

**A penny for your thoughts? Review please! ^_^ (reviews make for an extremely happy author, btdubs) **

**~dancer-me**


	16. Epilogue

**(AN) Epilogue time! Please enjoy (and review!) =) **

* * *

"That was way harder than it needed to be."

"Yeah? Well you're not the one she's pissed at." Naruto grumbled as he stepped through his apartment window, holding Sakura in his arms.

"Oh, really? I haven't talked to her since we came back to Konoha." Sakura countered, raising an eyebrow at him but still not releasing her arms from around his neck as Naruto stepped into his room.

"You were injured!" He argued indignantly, "and were recovering! Most of the time you were sleeping, anyway. It's not like you had much time to talk to her."

Sakura hummed in what he assumed to be agreement as she stuck her foot out and slid his window shut.

"Still..." She began, "I probably should have stayed at the hospital to talk to her. Instead of, you know, running away?" She laughed softly as she gently shook her head, probably still amused by their getaway.

Naruto sighed in confusion as he slid down his bedroom wall and settled himself on the floor. Sakura adjusted herself in his lap and leaned her head against his shoulder. He liked the position. A lot. He liked that he could hold her comfortably like this. He loved who he was able to hold in his arms.

Earlier in the day they had been preparing to leave the hospital when Ino seemed to have caught wind of Sakura's discharge. She'd knocked – pounded, in Naruto's humble opinion – against Sakura's door, claiming she wanted to _talk_. The very word had sent shivers of apprehension down Naruto's spine.

To Naruto, it sounded more like an impending interrogation. An interrogation that likely wouldn't have ended well for him. After the scene he'd made running around Konoha with an unconscious and injured Sakura in his arms, it was no wonder that Ino wanted to have a few _words_ about the situation.

In his head it sounded a lot like: _"Some kind of boyfriend you are, Naruto! You almost let her get killed!"_ and that was _not_ a topic he felt like revisiting anytime soon.

He had plastered himself against the door and fumbled around for the lock, all the while begging Sakura to not let Ino get to him. Sakura seemed to have been on the same boat though, since she had been scrambling to tie up her sandals after having slipped into a red cheongsam he'd sent a clone to pick up for her from her house.

Naruto had scooped Sakura up into his arms and darted out the window before Ino could get into his head and _make_ him open up the door. After some rooftop hopping they had escaped safely to his apartment.

But... the blond was starting to worry now that maybe he'd misread Sakura's actions.

"Did you..." He tilted his head down to look at her, "want to stick around and talk to her?" He couldn't really fathom the idea, but then again he did have a tendency to miss these things.

Sakura laughed a bit more and shook her head as she gently pat his shoulder.

"Hah, um, no. I have a new relationship status I haven't talked to her about, and after all these years of me having nothing juicy to tell her about? I am _not _ready for that conversation."

Naruto gulped, well aware that that conversation would have a lot to do with him. It was a flattering thought, though, and he smiled with goofy joy as he pulled her closer in his arms. He'd spend a whole day sneezing at the mention of his name if that meant he got to be Sakura's man.

"I just feel a bit guilty about running away. She's probably just worried." Sakura conceded.

Naruto nuzzled the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her shampoo and revelling in her warmth. "Ino can wait," he mumbled quietly into her hair, "I need a solid two weeks just to hold you and convince myself you're okay."

He had said the last part mostly for himself, but from the way she tightened her arms around his he got the feeling that she had heard him. Somewhere inside of him he was still freaked out by how close he'd come to losing her. He needed to convince himself that she was really still here, alive, with _him_.

Sakura turned in his arms and lifted her head to look directly at him. Her gaze softened and she raised her hand, caressing his cheek gently with the backs of her fingers. "I'm still here," she whispered softly and he nodded slowly against her touch, "I'm okay."

Sakura secured her arms around his shoulders and leaned into him, holding him tightly in her embrace.

"You can have as long as you want, Naruto." She whispered, and he suspected she knew how hard the past several days had been for him. He also dared to hope that she needed him as much as he needed her.

"Sakura-chan?" He asked quietly.

"Hmm?"

"I love you." His voice was soft but he spoke his words with conviction. He knew she already knew his feelings, but he still had to tell her. And he would tell her every day for the rest of their lives.

Sakura snuggled in closer to him and her fingers toyed with the hair at the back of his neck.

"I love you too, Naruto." She whispered without hesitation, "and I could really use these two weeks with you, too."

He kissed the top of her head tenderly and they let the rest of the afternoon slip away as they held each other close.

* * *

Sakura liked Naruto's apartment. It could use some tender loving care, for sure, but she could see it being a place filled with love and laughter. The idea made her smile.

It was also quite useful – and somewhat surprising – that he was a closet neat freak, having kept his home impeccably tidy. She suspected the only time he let it fall into a mess was when he was sick. Sakura padded softly down the hall as she mused, heading for his bathroom, one of Naruto's old t-shirts in hand.

The afternoon had come and gone and Naruto had dashed out in the early evening to go grab some takeout ramen from Ichiraku. Apparently he hadn't spent much time at home since their return to Konoha and didn't have anything edible in his house.

Sakura hadn't been able to hold back her laugh when he'd returned – through a window – with two take-out boxes in hand and a huge grin on his face. He regaled her with a story of his 'awesome elusiveness' over dinner, describing how he'd managed to avoid most of the other Konoha 11 during his quest for food. Needless to say, dinner had been an amusing affair and Sakura hadn't wanted it any other way.

Locating the bathroom, Sakura stepped inside and pulled the door closed behind her. She washed up and slipped out of her clothes. Looking in the mirror, Sakura immediately noticed the scar on the side of her abdomen. Her smile slowly fading, she turned around and glanced over her shoulder into the mirror, noting a similar scar a little higher up on her back.

Sighing, Sakura stopped examining the reminder of that battle and quickly pulled Naruto's shirt over her head. The wound had been deep, and after all of Sakura's weak attempts to close it, it was really no surprise that it had ended up scarring. There was no point in dwelling on it, and certainly not when she had radically different things on her mind.

Glancing at the mirror once more, Sakura looked herself over as she subconsciously fiddled with her hair. Naruto's shirt was loose and hit her mid-thigh, reminding her that he really had grown and was definitely quite a bit bigger and broader than she was.

She had asked to stay the night with him. Given that she'd already slept with him she didn't understand why she'd been so nervous to make such a simple request. She loved him; he loved her, They needed each other. The very idea of losing him the way Naruto had almost lost her made her want to crumble to her knees with the aching nausea that rushed through her.

There was no way he would have said no, and the wonderful smile he gave her when he told her she could stay as long as she wanted had shown her that he really did want her to stay. So why, she still wondered, had she been so breathless when she asked?

Maybe it was because they both knew that she wanted more than a sleepover. She wanted him to make love to her in a way that was different than their frantic coupling back in the forest during their mission. She didn't regret what they did, absolutely not, but this would mean something different to her, to them.

Sakura blushed lightly as she walked down the hall to his bedroom. They were safe in Konoha; in Naruto's apartment. They could take their time and be together however long they wanted to without the threat of any immediate danger. No scrambling to put their clothes back on and leaving things unsaid.

Sakura lightly pushed open the door to Naruto's room and stopped in the doorway, leaning against the frame to admire the blond.

Naruto stood by his window, dressed in only a pair of black sweatpants and the First's necklace around his neck, his hand pressed against the glass as he looked out into the night. He glanced away when he heard the floorboards creak beneath her feet and turned his gaze on her.

Sakura took in a deep breath as she looked into Naruto's bright blue eyes that seemed to glow in the moonlight streaming in through the window. Naruto smiled and started walking towards her, stopping a few feet in front of her to look her over.

Bracing a hand on her hip, Sakura quirked a delicate pink eyebrow at him. Laughing softly, Naruto ruffled the hair at the back of his head and looked slightly away.

"You look good in my shirt," He admitted, shooting a short glance at her before quickly looking away again, "I like that you're wearing it..."

Sakura smiled at that. She liked that she was wearing his shirt, too. It was quite possibly going to be her new favourite thing to wear to bed at night. Pushing off from the door frame, Sakura closed the distance between her and Naruto and placed her hands softly against his chest.

Naruto looked down at her, letting his arm drop from behind his head to his side. Smiling up at him, Sakura stood on her toes and brushed her lips softly against his. When he kissed her back she pulled away slowly and whispered his name before his lips came down to meet hers once more.

Sakura revelled in the feeling of his arms coming around her and pulling her close as she moved her lips against his, loving the softness of his lips and the tenderness of his kiss. She slid her palms up his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck as she leaned even more into him, wanting to be closer.

She nibbled on his bottom lip and Naruto relinquished his mouth to her, letting her slide her tongue into his mouth to slowly explore and tangle with his own. Finally the need to breathe became apparent and she pulled her mouth slightly away, breathing deeply and staring at his thoroughly kissed lips.

* * *

Naruto could have kissed her for days. She was so beautiful and in _his shirt_ and she tasted like Sakura mixed with a hint of ramen and it was _so wonderful_. Naruto ran his hand up her back as he took in some much needed air.

There were butterflies in his stomach and somewhere in the back of his mind he acknowledged that they were result of a mixture of nervousness and excitement. He was going to make love to Sakura tonight, and he was going to do her right. I wasn't their first time, but it was certainly going to be different. She was _everything_ to him and he was going to try his best to show her all his feelings that he didn't have the words for.

Flashing Sakura a quick grin, Naruto swiftly bent down and hooked his arm behind her knees. She released a startled gasp before it slipped into soft laughter as he carried her over to his bed and gently deposited her atop the blankets.

Crawling onto the bed beside her, Naruto pulled her close and kissed her, moving his lips slowly and lovingly against hers as he trailed a hand down her figure. He felt her shiver as his hand brushed her thigh and slid under her shirt. He traced her navel with his thumb and slowly dragged his hand up her abdomen.

Sakura moaned lightly at his touch and kissed him harder, sliding her hands up his neck to delve into his hair, hanging loosely without his headband. Naruto shifted to hover above her, bracing his weight on his forearm by her side as he slid his hand up higher, just lightly skimming her covered breasts as his fingers slid beneath her straps and began to slip the cloth down her shoulders.

He couldn't manage to slide the straps down very far with her hands up in his hair, but he wasn't in any particular rush to lose her touch and he'd managed to loosen the undergarment enough to free her breasts.

Naruto slanted his mouth against hers as he ran his hand back down her collar to cup one of her breasts in his palm. Sakura gasped into his mouth and pulled his head as close as she could, holding onto him tightly and kissing him with a force that made him want to groan in happiness at the way she reacted to his touch.

Naruto caressed her, loving the feeling of her naked skin beneath his hand and the way she squirmed beneath him, making the quietest sounds into his mouth that told him that she liked what he was doing.

Reluctantly, Naruto pulled his lips away from Sakura's and looked down into her pleasure glazed eyes. Releasing her breast from his hand, Naruto pulled his hand out from under her shirt and gripped the hem, tugging it gently.

Sakura slipped her fingers from his hair and Naruto almost regretted trying to take her shirt off before she put her arms up over her head and nodded at him. Slowly, Naruto pulled the shirt up her body and gently tugged it over her head, slipping the cloth down her arms and off of her entirely.

Naruto took a long moment to admire Sakura, swashed in moonlight and lying on his bed, waiting for his touch. His eyes paused a moment as he caught sight of the scar on her stomach, but he blinked those feelings away. She was alive, she was beautiful and he was the luckiest man in the world. He didn't have the kind of self control it took to sit there and only look, and so Naruto slid down further on his bed and pressed his lips against her stomach.

Sakura shifted against him and he placed a hand on her hip, holding her steady while he ran his lips up her torso, kissing her skin. Sakura squirmed more and he groaned as her legs brushed his hardness. Trying to concentrate on her and not his arousal, Naruto licked up her body until he made it to her uncovered breasts.

Blinking, he realized that her squirming was both a result of his ministrations and her bringing her arms behind her to unclasp her bra. Sakura dove her fingers back into his hair much to his pleasure as he secured his lips around a nipple, slowing drawing it into his mouth and brushing it with his teeth while his hand kneaded the mound.

* * *

Sakura gasped and moaned beneath Naruto, pulling his head closer to her breasts as she dug her fingers deeper into his soft hair. His mouth was hot on her breast and she couldn't manage to keep still as his tongue lavished her with attention.

She wanted to press herself entirely against him but he swung a leg over hers, holding her still along with his hand on her hip as he released her breast and shifted over to give her other one equal attention.

"Mm!" Sakura gasped and threw her head back as his teeth grazed her. She slid a hand from his hair and down his back, her fingers running over his taught muscles and gripping him tightly as his mouth blissfully tortured her.

Her body was begging for Naruto's attention elsewhere, and finally her squirming won out as she freed a leg from Naruto's hold and wrapped it around his waist, pulling his body down closer to her.

"Ahn!" Naruto groaned out around her breast as she pulled his hardness against her. Pleased that she wasn't the only one suffering such arousal, Sakura took the opportunity to gently pull Naruto's head up to hers and kiss him passionately, angling her head to capture his bottom lip in hers and slip her tongue deep into his mouth.

Sakura felt Naruto's grip on her hip tighten as she squeezed her legs around him tighter, pulling him as close as possible and pressing him against her. She bucked her hips against his and Naruto groaned deeply into her throat, causing shivers of anticipation to course through the kunoichi.

Naruto freed his lips from hers and buried his face in her neck, kissing tenderly at her collar as his warm breath brushed her skin. Sakura held him close, breathing deeply as she ran her tongue over her kiss bruised lips.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto breathed her name softly against her skin and Sakura wanted to melt into him. She could feel his arousal pressed snugly against her, and she suspected that he wanted her as much as she desired him.

Sliding her palm down his back, Sakura slid her fingers into the waistband of his sweats, feebly tugging at the garment but unable to get it very far from her trapped position beneath Naruto.

Naruto lifted his head from her neck and Sakura sucked in a deep breath as she met his smouldering gaze. Sakura mewled softly at the loss of his warmth and touch as he pushed off of her, but soon she had him back in her arms as he slipped out of his remaining clothes.

His hands caressed her body, almost as if he was worshipping her every curve. Knowing Naruto, he probably was. Sakura arched her back against his touch, pressing her lips to his throat as he slid his hand down her hip, hooking a finger around the fabric of her underwear and sliding the garment down her legs and off her body.

Wrapping her legs around his waist once more Sakura pulled him closer and cried out in pleasure as his naked skin pressed against hers. _This_ was what she'd wanted since his surprisingly skilful hands had first begun to torment her. Kissing him deeply, Sakura wrapped her arms around him.

Naruto leaned his other arm beside her on the bed and with his other hand he gently lifted her hips as he guided himself into her. Slowly, tantalizingly slowly he slipped inside her, filling her so entirely as she clung to him, her head thrown back with pleasure.

Sakura opened her eyes and looked up into Naruto's gentle blue orbs as he slowly pulled out of her and pushed back in. Sakura kissed him, touched him and clung to him as he made slow love to her, his thrusts long and torturously drawn out as he whispered sweet nothings against her lips; murmured how much he loved her into her ear.

Sakura was melting; sinking deeply into heaven as Naruto held her close and pushed himself deeply inside her. She didn't know how long they had lain there, slowly loving each other as thin sheets of sweat covered their bodies. Naruto's arm shook slightly next to her head as he leaned his forehead against hers, moaning as he withdrew himself from her once more and slid back in.

Every inch of her skin burned with the slow build up of pleasure, and finally Sakura couldn't take it anymore. Squeezing her thighs tightly around Naruto, Sakura pressed herself against him as much as she could as he buried deeply inside her. She cried out incoherent sounds that should have been his name as she came, clinging to him and pressing her lips against his throat.

Naruto held her closer as her core tightened around him, squeezing him and sending him over the edge as he lost himself inside of her. Naruto's arm gave out and he fell into bed beside her, his other arm pulling her close as she sleepily tucked her head beneath his chin.

Sakura brushed her nails lightly up and down his back as they both took in ragged breaths, existing in the afterglow of their lovemaking.

After their breathing returned to normal, Naruto held her close and lifted her slightly to pull the blankets out from under them. Letting the top blanket slide to the floor, Naruto pulled the sheet up and over them as she snuggled in close to him and he wrapped his arms around her.

* * *

"Mmm..." Sakura hummed as Naruto played with her hair while they rested against his pillows.

"You're amazing, Sakura-chan," He whispered, his lips brushing against her temple. Sakura was his dream, his love, and in his arms. He couldn't make himself stop adoring her long enough to let sleep finally take him. God knows he hadn't slept well in at least a week, having spent almost all his time at the hospital willing her to wake up.

He felt Sakura's lips curve in a smile against his chest and his heart swelled as she lifted her head to look at him. Her hair hung messily in her face, tousled and haphazard. She tilted her head to the side, letting most of the beautiful pink locks hang over her shoulder, leaving only a few strands to fall by her eyes.

"I love you," She whispered as she slowly brought her lips down to his in a sweet kiss, "get some sleep, Naruto."

Smiling at him as she rested her head on his arm that lay across the pillow, she added, "I promise I'll be here in the morning."

Naruto smiled at that and pressed his lips to the side of her head. "I know you will," he admitted happily, "but I can't stop my heart from racing when I look at you long enough to fall asleep."

Sakura shifted in his arms and looked up at him with her beautiful jade eyes, "so close your eyes," she whispered, smiling.

Naruto laughed and shook his head, "I don't want to."

Sakura scrunched her nose up in a playful frown. "That's an order, Naruto."

Naruto grinned down at his pink-haired kunoichi, "You can't boss _me_ around. I'm –"

Naruto Uzumaki? Future Hokage? Awesome? Too much in love? He didn't remember how he was planning on ending that sentence as Sakura leaned up and placed a sweet kiss against the tip of his nose.

"Sure I can," she laughed delicately, "I outrank you. So go to sleep and you can adore me in the morning." Sakura smiled brightly at his dumbfounded expression, her eyes twinkling with genuine amusement and love. He could see so clearly the emotions she was feeling.

She could probably see his clearly too as he gawked at her. He was still a _Chunin_. She was two ranks ahead of him... What did that mean for their relationship? Laughing off the tiny bit of panic, Naruto leaned into his pillow and wrapped Sakura up in his arms.

The only thing that mattered to him was that she wanted him in her life, and he was going to stay there, no matter what.

She would never have to stand alone.

* * *

**(AN) The End. =)**

**I tried to make it un-smutty, of which I don't think I entirely succeeded =P Ah, well, practice makes perfect! **

**Thanks a BUNCH to all of my reviewers throughout this story – you really inspired me to keep going and finish this up and I'm so glad I got to. =) Thanks to: 89, 9-tailed reaper, saveme57, Mangaka Shuzen, NorthernLights25, Traekor, Kidloco, Arvarno, ChaoticSerenity and xzanessaforverxG for reviewing my last chapter! **

**With regards to my future fanfic writing endeavours: **

**1. I am **_**entertaining**_** the thought of making a sequel for this story, but I'm not entirely sure yet. I don't have anything planned out, only a few wandering thoughts that need to find a way to be tied. Ergo, you may get one or you may not! I'm undecided. ALSO: I'd like to try my hand at writing another multi-chaptered romance between these two wherein Sakura isn't so hell bent on becoming strong. I want it to be focused more on developing the romance than dealing with the external conflict. (I was SUCH a liar when I said I was going to stay away from multi-chaptered fics...)**

**2. I've been suffering from a rather persistent AU Sasuke x Sakura brain child that demands I give birth to it, so I have the first 6 chapters mapped out in detail already. It's kind of ironic that I want to write this, considering I wrote Sasuke off in this story (har har). You'll be able to check my profile soon for details regarding this story and other ones that I'm planning that involve other pairings.**

**3. Naruto x Sakura is still my favourite! I just happen to have no awesome one-shot ideas planned out for them at the moment. I'm still in warm and fuzzy land from this story with them. (Okay, that's a lie, I DO have a possible two-shot idea but it's kind of dark and again, warm and fuzzy land... I plan on calling it 'Captivate Me', so keep your eyes out!)**

**OKAY. Thank you so much for reading my story and putting it in your favourites! It makes me positively giddy! ^_^**

**Please leave me a review and let me know your thoughts. =) They make me even more giddy and are well loved! (and any constructive criticism you may have will help me improve my writing. :)) **

**So yeah; REVIEW! =)**

**~dancer-me**


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